Eighty-three hotels with about 22,000 rooms so far have received the Green Star Hotel Certificate all over Egypt, a source with the Ministry of Tourism said. The source added that about three other hotels will get the certificate soon. Egypt is adopting the sustainable development concepts approved by the UN through a structural reform program, and is prioritizing the development of eco-friendly tourism by encouraging hotels and tourist facilities to preserve the environment and use clean energy, the source said. The Ministry of Tourism is cooperating with the Chamber of Tourism Establishments to increase the number of eco-friendly hotels, and to set up standards for hotel clusters in the so-called “green destinations” to meet demand for this type of tourism and enhance its presence in Egypt. Tamer al-Shaer, member of the Chamber of Hotel Establishments, said that the green certificate hotels are distributed in the areas of Cairo, Ain Sokhna, Sharm el-Sheikh, Taba, Hurghada and Marsa Alam. He added that the certificate aims to support the use of solar energy technologies, energy conservation in hotel facilities and linking renewable energy and sustainable development, utilizing it for the development of the tourism sector. Shaer pointed out that tourists coming from Europe specifically, one of the most important markets for Egypt, favor green tourism hotels. He stressed that Egypt must keep pace with the latest developments in the sector globally. The Green Star Hotel Certificate for tourist accommodation businesses is awarded to tourist accommodations in Egypt for their commitment to environmentally friendly management and social responsibility. It was developed as a public-private project between key stakeholders from the German and Egyptian tourism markets. The Vice President of Marsa Alam Investors Association, Tarek Shalaby, explained that the government must provide the required materials to produce solar energy at low prices or allow investors to import it with a customs exemption. He said that reliance on clean energy concerns the entire country, and therefore the state should encourage investors to enter the solar energy field.

Google is not required to apply an EU “right to be forgotten” to its search engine domains outside Europe, the EU s top court ruled Tuesday in a landmark decision. The European Court of Justice handed victory to Google in the case, seen as crucial in determining whether EU online regulation should apply beyond Europe s borders or not. The US internet giant had argued that the removal of search results required under EU law should not extend to its google.com domain or its other non-EU sites. The court ruled that, while a search engine operator such as Google must carry out “de-referencing” of links as demanded by a regulator or court in an EU state to all European versions of its sites, that “right to be forgotten” did not need to go further. “There is no obligation under EU law” for search engine operators such as Google “to carry out such a de-referencing on all the versions of its search engine,” the court said. But it did stress that de-referencing on EU sites must include measures to “seriously discourage” a European internet user being able to get around the “right to be forgotten” by accessing unrestricted results from a search engine on a non-EU domain. That demands “geo-blocking”, which Google says it already uses effectively in Europe. Savvy internet users, however, can get around that measure with a VPN that masks the user s location, or by going to some non-Google search engines. Google hails win The EU court case, seen as pitting individuals rights to privacy online against freedom of information, stemmed from a legal battle waged by France since 2014 to have Google apply the “right to be forgotten” to all its search domains. If France had won, it could have deepened a rift between Europe and the United States, which is home to most of the internet s behemoths and whose President Donald Trump has railed against what he sees as EU meddling in US business. In the end, though, the court found that EU law on the issue did not seek to have the “right to be forgotten” extend beyond its borders. Google hailed Tuesday s decision by the EU court. “It s good to see that the court agreed with our arguments,” its lawyer, Peter Fleischer, said in a statement, adding that Google has worked “to strike a sensible balance between people s rights of access to information and privacy”. The US company and other stakeholders had warned that authoritarian countries outside Europe could abuse global de-referencing requests to cover up rights violations. “It s a balanced decision. You can t impose extraterritorial effects when it comes to de-referencing a person,” said Yann Padova, a data privacy lawyer with the Baker McKenzie firm in Paris who was not involved in arguing the case. “What would we say if China started demanding de-referencing of content accessible to French users?” he asked. Closely watched case Google s position was bolstered in January by a non-binding opinion from the EU court s top legal advisor, advocate general Maciej Szpunar, who recommended judges “should limit the scope of the de-referencing that search engine operators are required to carry out, to the EU”. The case had been closely watched, especially as Europe has also already emerged as a global rule-setter in terms of data protection on the internet. A 2016 General Data Protection Regulation it enacted that covers all EU citizens and residents has forced many sites and companies around the globe to comply with its measures. In terms of the “right to be forgotten” legal fight, France s data regulator, the Commission Nationale de l Informatique et des Libertes (CNIL), had argued that, for de-referencing to be effective, it must apply to all domains wherever they are. In 2016, CNIL fined Google 100,000 euros ($110,000) for non-compliance. Google appealed to France s highest court, which in turn referred to the European Court of Justice, ending up with Tuesday s ruling.

Set in 2019, cult 80s movie “Blade Runner” envisaged a neon-stained landscape of bionic “replicants” genetically engineered to look just like humans. So far that has failed to materialize, but at a secretive research institute in western Japan, wild-haired roboticist Hiroshi Ishiguro is fine-tuning technology that could blur the line between man and machine. Highly intelligent, self-aware and helpful around the house — the robots of the future could look and act just like humans and even become their friends, Ishiguro and his team predict. “I don t know when a Blade Runner future will happen, but I believe it will,” the Osaka University professor told AFP. “Every year we re developing new technology — like deep learning, which has improved the performance of pattern recognition,” he added. “Now we re focusing on intention and desire, and if we implement them into robots whether they become more human-like.” Robots are already widely used in Japan — from cooking noodles to helping patients with physiotherapy. Marketed as the world s first “cyborg-type” robot, HAL (hybrid assistive limb) — developed by Tsukuba University and Japanese company Cyberdyne — is helping people in wheelchairs walk again using sensors connected to the unit s control system. Scientists believe service robots will one day help us with household chores, from taking out the garbage to making the perfect slice of toast. Stockbrokers in Japan and around the world are already deploying AI bots to forecast stock market trends and science fiction s rapid advance towards science fact owes much to the likes of Ishiguro. He previously created an android copy of himself — using complex moving parts, electronics, silicone skin and his own hair — that he sends on business trips in his place. Wake up, time to die But Ishiguro believes recent breakthroughs in robotics and artificial intelligence will accelerate the synthesis of man and machine. “As a scientist, I hope to develop self-conscious robots like you see in Blade Runner to help me understand what it is to be human,” he said. “That s my motivation.” The point at which that line between humans and machines converges has long been a source of anxiety for some, as depicted in popular culture. In “Blade Runner”, Harrison Ford plays a police officer who tracks down and kills replicants that have escaped and are living among the population in Los Angeles. The “Terminator” series starring Arnold Schwarzenegger centers on a self-aware computer network which initiates a nuclear holocaust and, through autonomous military machines, wages war against human survivors. “I can t understand why Hollywood wants to destroy robots,” shrugged Ishiguro, who in 2007 was named one of the top 100 living geniuses by global consultants firm Synectics. “Look at Japanese cartoons and animations — robots are always friendly. We have a totally different cultural background,” noted the professor. It s not just Hollywood that has concerns over AI. Tesla s Elon Musk has called for a global ban on killer robots, warning technological advances could revolutionize warfare and create new “weapons of terror” that target innocent people. But Ishiguro insists there is no inherent danger in machines becoming self-aware or surpassing human intelligence. “We don t need to fear AI or robots, the risk is controllable,” he said. “My basic idea is that there is no difference between humans and robots.” Uncanny valley The ultimate goal, according to Ishiguro s colleague Takashi Minato, is “to bring robots into society as human companions — it s possible for robots to become our friends.” But will they look like us, as Ishiguro believes, and how comfortable will we feel surrounded by autonomous humanoids? Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori suggested in 1970 that the more robots resemble people, the creepier we find them — a phenomenon he called the “uncanny valley”. Ishiguro s first attempt at creating an android clone was based on his daughter and its “jerky movements” reduced her to tears. He has since perfected the template, including a creation he claimed was the world s first news-reading android and a robot priest at a Kyoto temple unveiled earlier this year. Minato shares his boss s visionary ideas. “Hopefully remote-control technology will develop to allow our alter egos to lead regular lives,” he said. “Like in the movie Surrogates — that would make life more convenient,” he added, referencing the sci-fi Bruce Willis hit in which people cocooned at home experience lives through robotic avatars. While he won t put a date on a real-life “Blade Runner” future, Ishiguro claims the rise of the machines has already begun. “Already computers are more powerful than humans in some cases,” he said. “Technology is just another means of evolution. We are changing the definition of what it is to be human.”

Dozens of people dressed in black went on a “funeral march” up a steep Swiss mountainside on Sunday to mark the disappearance of an Alpine glacier amid growing global alarm over climate change. The Pizol “has lost so much substance that from a scientific perspective it is no longer a glacier,” Alessandra Degiacomi, of the Swiss Association for Climate Protection, told AFP ahead of the event. Sunday s climb took place as the UN gathered youth activists and world leaders in New York to mull the action needed to curb global warming. The solemn two-hour “funeral march” led up the side of Pizol mountain in northeastern Switzerland to the foot of the steep and rapidly melting ice formation, situated at an altitude of around 2,700 meters (8,850 feet) near the Liechtenstein and Austrian borders. Upon arrival, a chaplain and several scientists were to give sombre speeches in remembrance of the glacier, accompanied by the mournful tones of alphorns — a 3.6-metre (12-foot), pipe-shaped wooden instrument. A wreath will be laid for the Pizol glacier, which has been one of the most studied glaciers in the Alps. The move comes after Iceland made global headlines last month with a large ceremony and the laying of a bronze plaque to commemorate Okjokull, the island s first glacier lost to climate change. 500 glaciers gone But unlike Iceland, Sunday s ceremony does not mark the first disappearance of a glacier from the Swiss Alps. “Since 1850, we estimate that more than 500 Swiss glaciers have completely disappeared, including 50 that were named,” Swiss glaciologist and march participant Matthias Huss told AFP before the event. Pizol may not be the first glacier to vanish in Switzerland, but “you could say it is the first to disappear that has been very thoroughly studied,” Huss of the ETH technical university in Zurich said. The logs kept since scientists began tracking the glacier in 1893 paint a bleak picture of recent rapid changes to the climate. Pizol has lost 80-90 percent of its volume just since 2006, leaving behind a mere 26,000 square meters (280,000 square feet) of ice, or “less than four football fields,” Huss said. Pizol, which sits at a relatively low altitude, was never very big. According to Glacier Monitoring Switzerland, or GLAMOS, it, like nearly 80 percent of Swiss glaciers, has been considered a so-called glacieret. Greenhouse gas referendum It has figured among some 4,000 glaciers — vast, ancient reserves of ice — dotted throughout the Alps, providing seasonal water to millions and forming some of Europe s most stunning landscapes. But Huss and other ETH scientists recently cautioned more than 90 percent of the Alpine glaciers could disappear by the end of this century if greenhouse gas emissions are not reined in. Regardless of what actions humans take now, the Alps will lose at least half of their ice mass by 2100, according to their study, published in April. And in a subsequent study published earlier this month, the researchers indicated that the Alps largest glacier, the mighty Aletsch, could completely disappear over the next eight decades. Sunday s “funeral” for Pizol provides an occasion to point out that climate change is not only melting glaciers but is endangering “our means of subsistence”, according to the organizing groups, including Greenpeace. It is threatening “human civilization as we know it in Switzerland and around the world,” they warn on the event webpage. With this in mind, the Swiss Association for Climate Protection recently presented the 100,000 signatures needed to launch a popular initiative, to be put to a referendum, demanding that Switzerland reduce its net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050. The date for the vote has yet to be set, but the Swiss government in August said it supported the objective.

Apple TV+ will be available for the public starting November 1, offering original shows and films featuring some of Hollywood s biggest stars for $4.99 a month, the US multinational technology company said on Wednesday. Apple TV+ will bring forward the highly awaited new series “See”, an American drama starring Jason Momoa, in November. The events of the series take place in a future world in which humanity has lost its sight. A number of other original shows will be available for streaming through Apple TV+, including “The Morning Show”, a satire about the world of daybreak news, “Dickinson”, a period drama about the coming-of-age of American writer Emily Dickinson, “For All Mankind”, an alternative history story about the space race, and “The Elephant Queen”, a documentary series about a mother elephant forced to leave her African savannah watering hole with her young. Apple added that the service will be available on the Apple TV app on iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, iPod touch, Mac and other platforms, including online at tv.apple.com with a seven-day free trial. “With Apple TV+, we are presenting all-original stories from the best, brightest and most creative minds, and we know viewers will find their new favorite show or movie on our service,” said Zack Van Amburg, Apple s head of Worldwide Video. According to the Apple website, the multinational technology company has led a technological revolution by introducing the Macintosh in 1984. “Apple s four software platforms — iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS — provide seamless experiences across all Apple devices and empower people with breakthrough services including the App Store, Apple Music, Apple Pay and iCloud,” the website reads.

Facebook has unveiled its plan to create an independent "oversight" board to make decisions over how the network is moderated. The firm insisted the panel, which will hear its first "cases" in 2020, will have power to override decisions it makes over contentious material and influence new policy. The idea, dubbed the Facebook supreme court, will eventually comprise 40 people around the world, but will be smaller at first. Experts have questioned the board s independence, as well as the motivation behind the move. "Facebook does not have a court," said Bernie Hogan, senior research fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute. "The only vote that really counts is the majority shareholder, Mark Zuckerberg." He added: "Facebook s supreme court invokes all the pomp and circumstance of actual judicial practice without any of the responsibility to citizens." The board will launch with no fewer than 11 part-time members, Facebook said, and the names of those appointed will be made public - as will the results of their deliberations. The board will be paid via a trust set up and funded by Facebook upfront. "We are responsible for enforcing our policies every day and we make millions of content decisions every week," wrote Facebook s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg. "But ultimately I don t believe private companies like ours should be making so many important decisions about speech on our own." How would the process work? Facebook outlined how the board would operate in a charter published on Tuesday. The goals of the panel, as stated by Facebook, are to: "Provide oversight of Facebook s content decisions" Reverse Facebook s decisions when necessary" "Be an independent authority outside of Facebook" Major disagreements will be escalated to the panel once all of Facebook s existing moderation layers had been exhausted. Facebook controls which cases are submitted to the board, although panel members will decide which of those cases to take on. Facebook anticipated that the board would only consider "dozens" of cases a year, focusing on those where a clear decision would be in "the greatest public benefit". Users affected will be allowed to state their case in a written statement, but Facebook said it anticipated some board members may wish to speak to users "face-to-face". Image copyrightREUTERS "The board s decision will be binding, even if I or anyone at Facebook disagrees with it," Mr Zuckerberg said. "The board will use our values to inform its decisions and explain its reasoning openly and in a way that protects people s privacy." One caveat, according to the firm s charter, is when recommendations are not technically feasible. Facebook said the trust would be opened up for other networks to join - and fund - in future. Why is Facebook doing this? Facebook s primary concern is that it doesn t want the power it currently wields - or at least, it doesn t want the scrutiny that power attracts. Its ability to decide what goes on its platform, the biggest network of people ever created, brings it nothing but trouble, particularly in its home country. One recent example demonstrates the conflict Facebook faces. An anti-abortion video, deemed to contain inaccuracies by an independent fact-checking group contracted by Facebook, was removed - only to be reinstated after four Republican senators complained to Mr Zuckerberg personally, accusing the site of having a bias against conservative views. In future, this kind of decision could be taken out of Facebook s direct control and handed to the oversight board, which has the power to override the site s policies - although experts predict Facebook will still bear the brunt of criticism. "This panel is seen as an attempt to do something, but it appears to be just short of having enough teeth to make a difference," argued Mr Hogan. "It is a way to tell critics lay off, we are doing all it can . Such a panel, while admirable is no match for some well organised trolls or broad systemic issues."

Somewhere in Cupertino, Apple executives are probably breathing sighs of relief — if not celebrating — as demand for the new iPhone 11 appears to be off to a good start. Apple (AAPL) announced three versions of the new model at its annual media event last week: the more basic iPhone 11, and the premium iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max. The iPhone 11 looks largely the same as its predecessors, with functional improvements such as longer battery life and more cameras. But analysts say early demand for the new phone has been stronger than last year since Apple and several retailers began accepting preorders on Friday. It s a win Apple desperately needs from its single biggest revenue driver. Declining iPhone sales have been a drag on Apple s business as customers hold onto their smartphones longer and Apple works to reverse a slowdown in China, once its most promising market, amid an ongoing trade war with the United States. Analysts often measure demand for smartphones in expected shipment delivery times — the more preorders that are made, the longer it will take for those orders to arrive on consumers doorsteps. Content by DHL Would you trust your business deals on the strength of a handshake? Bruce Allen and his client Bryan Adams have worked together for 40 years off the strength of a handshake, and they wouldn t have it any other way. Delivery times have been pushed out on a number of iPhone 11 models, with many now expected to arrive two to three weeks after the phone s September 20 release date, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said in a note to investors Sunday. Ives said there has been particularly strong demand for a larger-storage version of the iPhone 11 Pro, and for Space Gray and Gold colored models. A research note from data analytics firm Nomura Group similarly pegged the shipment time for the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max models at 17 days, versus 11 days for last year s iPhone XS and XS Max. "We are careful about extrapolating first weekend data, though it is fair to say it is ahead of last year s launches," Nomura analysts said in the note. Among the reasons for the iPhone 11 s early success may be that fewer people upgraded to last year s iPhone XR and XS models. The XR and XS were Apple s most expensive iPhones yet (the basic XR version started at $749), with relatively few new innovations to excite customers. But with the way technology is designed, people still typically need to upgrade every few years, and Apple dropped the price of the basic iPhone 11 model back down to $699 and held the price of its flagship models flat. Roughly 350 million of the total 900 million iPhones out in the market could soon be ready for an upgrade, Ives estimates. However, he points out that orders could be hurt by expectations that next year s iPhone release could feature 5G capability. Continued tensions in China could also lower iPhone 11 sales, though Nomura analysts said preorders of the new model from China so far appear to be on par with last year. More iPhone 11 sales would likely mean more subscribers to Apple digital services, an area the company is increasingly leaning on to drive profits and future growth. At its event last week, Apple announced the prices and some offerings for its Apple Arcade and Apple TV+ services, with Apple TV+ slated to be the cheapest streaming service on the market when it launches November 1 at $4.99 per month. CEO Tim Cook also said all new purchases of iPhones, iPads and Macs would come with one year of free Apple TV+. That offer could help Apple secure future paying customers for the service. Ives said he now expects Apple could gain 100 million Apple TV+ customers in the next three to four years, so long as Apple delivers on its promise of content good enough to stack up against the fierce competition in the streaming market. That could mean Apple bringing home nearly $6 billion in annual Apple TV revenue by 2024. However, analysts from Goldman Sachs said in a note to investors Thursday the one-year free offer could harm Apple s earnings in 2020. The company refuted that idea, saying: "We do not expect the introduction of Apple TV+, including the accounting treatment for the service, to have a material impact on our financial results." Now, with the basic version of the iPhone 11 set to hit shelves in Apple stores this Friday, the company will likely soon see whether that early demand will translate to actual iPhone sales.

The ozone hole over Antarctica this year could be one of the smallest seen in three decades, say scientists. Observations of the gas s depletion high in the atmosphere demonstrate that it hasn t opened up in 2019 in the way it normally does. The EU s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) says it s currently well under half the area usually seen in mid-September. The hole is also off-centre and far from the pole, the EU agency adds. CAMS experts, who are based in Reading, UK, are projecting stable levels of ozone or a modest increase in the coming days. Why don t we talk about ozone anymore? China confirmed as source of rise in CFCs Ozone: The Earth s protective shield is repairing Ozone is a molecule that is composed of three oxygen atoms. It is responsible for filtering out harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. The gas is constantly being made and destroyed in the stratosphere, about 20-30km above the Earth. In an unpolluted atmosphere, this cycle of production and decomposition is in equilibrium. But chlorine and bromine-containing chemicals released by human activity have unbalanced the process, resulting in a loss of ozone that is at its greatest in the Antarctic spring in September/October. The Montreal Protocol signed by governments in 1987 has sought to recover the situation by banning the production and use of the most damaging chemicals. This past week has seen the area of deep thinning cover just over five million square km. This time last year it was beyond 20 million square km, although in 2017 it was just above 10 million sq km. In other words, there is a good degree of variability from year to year. The conditions for thinning occur annually just as the Antarctic emerges from Winter. The reactions that work to destroy ozone in the cold stratosphere are initiated by the return of sunshine at high latitudes. Scientists say that while losses started earlier than normal this year, they were truncated by a sudden warming event that lifted temperatures in the stratosphere by 20-30 degrees. This destabilised the ozone destroying process. Richard Engelen is the deputy head at CAMS. He says the small size seen so far this year is encouraging but warns against complacency. "Right now I think we should view this as an interesting anomaly. We need to find out more about what caused it." he told BBC News.. "It s not really related to the Montreal Protocol where we ve tried to reduce chlorine and bromine in the atmosphere because they re still there. It s much more related to a dynamical event. People will obviously ask questions related to climate change, but we simply can t answer that at this point." CAMS is an EU service run by the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). It has access to a range of space-borne observations. Principal data sources include the European Metop weather satellites and the EU s own Sentinel-5P spacecraft. The four platforms all carry ozone sensors and routinely cross the pole. Their information is combined with models of atmospheric behaviour. The World Metrological Organization-sponsored 2018 Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion said a recovery of the ozone layer to pre-1970 levels could be expected around 2060.

Samuel Rader quit his job three years ago to work full time on his YouTube channel, “Sam and Nia,” featuring videos of his family life. The channel created by the Texas-based couple — with videos of their Hawaii vacation, setting up their backyard pool and other content about “Christian family life” — has become one of the stars of the Google-owned video service with some 2.5 million subscribers. But the future is now uncertain for “Sam and Nia” and other YouTube “creators” as a result of a settlement with US regulators that will make it harder to get ad revenues from videos and channels directed at children. “I went into a minor panic attack when I heard,” said Rader, whose channel has taken in a reported $2 million from ads placed along the videos. “I thought we would have to find a new source of revenues.” YouTube earlier this month agreed to pay a fine of $170 million and change how it handles collected data from children under a settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission. YouTube will treat data from anyone watching children s content on YouTube as coming from a child. It will also stop serving personalized ads on this content entirely, and bar features such as comments and notifications. The new rules, set to go into effect in four months, have stoked fears in the YouTube community of creators and “vloggers” like the Raders, who live off the advertising revenue. Shock, grief, fear “There s a lot of shock, grief and fear. For many creators, this is their only source of income,” said Melissa Hunter of the Family Video Network, a consultancy which also operates a group of channels on YouTube. “They are people making content in their houses, not huge companies; they re small homemade businesses.” Many questions remain as to how YouTube will define children s content — intended for kids up to age 12 — which will be subject to the new rules. Rader said he has been advised that “we are a low-risk channel because our content is not targeting children.” YouTube is believed to have millions of content creators on its network, who share in the service s ad revenues, estimated to be more than $10 billion annually, though it is unclear how much of YouTube s content is directed at children. In announcing the new policy, YouTube chief executive Susan Wojcicki acknowledged that “these changes will have a significant business impact on family and kids creators who have been building both wonderful content and thriving businesses, so we ve worked to give impacted creators four months to adjust before changes take effect.” Wojcicki added that YouTube is “committed to working with them through this transition, and providing resources to help them better understand these changes,” and would also establish a $100 million fund “dedicated to the creation of thoughtful, original children s content.” Critics of the internet giant said YouTube marketed itself as a destination for children and benefitted by selling advertising to toymakers and others. FTC chairman Joe Simons said the settlement “prevents YouTube and Google from turning a blind eye to the existence of kids-directed content” on its platform. Hunter said the creators of family content may collect anywhere from $30 to $100,000 per month, but that “those families are going to make almost nothing on January 1” when the new rules come into effect. Ending targeting? YouTube and creators may still be able to generate revenue from video ads as long as they are not targeted based on data collected from children, although these are far less lucrative. “Advertisers do spend more for trackable, measurable placements,” said Nicole Perrin, an analyst at the research firm eMarketer. “I m not sure there is a way to comply with this for kids without limiting some of the revenues on that side.” Shaun McKnight, whose Dallas-based M-Star Media has created several popular YouTube channels which have attracted millions of subscribers, said he and his wife anticipated changes were coming. “My wife and I thought it was too risky so we pulled back,” he said.

A major United Nations climate change summit will take place in Glasgow. The UK has won the bid to host the 26th Conference of the Parties, known as COP26, following a partnership with Italy. Up to 30,000 delegates are expected to attend the event at Glasgow s Scottish Events Campus (SEC) at the end of next year. It is designed to produce an international response to the climate emergency. The UK will host the main COP summit while Italy will host preparatory events and a significant youth event, as part of the agreement. Claire Perry, UK nominated president for COP26, said: "In 2020, world leaders will come together to discuss how to tackle climate change on a global scale - and where better to do so than Glasgow, one of the UK s most sustainable cities with a great track record for hosting high-profile international events." The Scottish government s Climate Change Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said the decision to host COP26 in Scotland was right "given our leadership on climate action". She continued: "Scotland was one of the first countries in the world to acknowledge the global climate emergency and the Scottish government has introduced the toughest targets in the UK to ensure our action matches the scale of our climate ambitions. "We look forward to working collaboratively with partners to deliver an ambitious and effective conference that ensures Scotland plays a leading role to help promote the increased global effort to tackle climate change." Vote of confidence Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the announcement was a "vote of confidence" from the UK s international partners. He added: "The UK is leading the world in tackling climate change. We re the first major economy to pass laws to end the UK s contribution to global warming. "Since 1990 the UK has reduced its emissions by over 40% while growing the economy by over two thirds." The UK government said it had cut greenhouse gas emissions by 16 million tonnes in the last eight years. Secretary of State for Scotland Alister Jack said: "The UK government is showing great leadership on this vital issue - becoming the first major economy to pass new laws to reduce emissions to net zero by 2050." The conference has been described as the most important gathering on climate change since the Paris agreement was signed in 2015. Lasting for two weeks, it would be the largest summit the UK has ever hosted, with up to 200 world leaders expected to attend for the final weekend. 2020 s conference is seen as a major crossroads in the battle against global climate change. It will likely be held just after the next US presidential election. It will also be the year in which governments are due to review their promises to cut carbon emissions in line with the latest science. The stark photo highlighting Greenland s ice loss UK government to commit to 2050 target EU leaders face pressure to deliver on climate change Campaigners have said the event will give the UK the chance to set the tone for the world s future. Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg appeared at the 2018 conference in Poland. It is expected to pose major security challenges for the Scottish government and police. Sources have told BBC Scotland that police will seek additional funding from the Scottish and UK governments. Deputy chief constable Malcolm Graham said: "Police Scotland has an enviable reputation for successfully and safely policing major events. "We will now start the detailed process of planning, with partners, for what will be a complex and expensive policing operation to support COP26 and to ensure a safe and secure event." Analysis by BBC News Science Editor David Shukman Intense, overcrowded and bewildering - a few impressions from UN climate conferences I ve reported from over the years. They re a rare chance for the world to get together to tackle climate change but because the stakes are high the atmosphere is always tense. The negotiations are complicated - with long arguments over phrases or even individual words. They regularly drag through the night leaving delegates exhausted. In Montreal back in 2005, at dawn on the final day, the then British environment secretary Margaret Beckett wept with relief when a deal was reached. In Copenhagen in 2009, some environmental campaigners were so frustrated with the lack of progress that they walked out - while at the same time other campaigners, who had staged a march outside the conference centre, battled with police in an effort to get inside. The gathering in Paris in 2015 was one of the smoothest, clever French diplomacy navigating towards a landmark deal, what s called the Paris Agreement. A system of voluntary cuts in carbon emissions, it formally comes into effect next year. The Whitehall view is that this is an extraordinary opportunity. But it also means there s a huge responsibility now on British shoulders.

NASA is developing a new technique to forecast malaria outbreaks in Myanmar from space, as the emergence of new drug-resistant strains in Southeast Asia threatens efforts to wipe out the deadly disease globally. The goal of worldwide malaria eradication within a generation, by 2050, is “bold but attainable”, a report released this week in The Lancet argued. Malaria cases and deaths plummeted by more than 90 percent in Myanmar between 2010 and 2017, World Health Organization (WHO) figures show, a success largely credited to better rural health services and wider use of treated bednets. But the country still has a higher prevalence than its neighbors in the Mekong region. Several drug-resistant strains are taking hold across Southeast Asia and it is feared these could migrate to Africa where more than 90 percent of cases globally occur. To counter this threat, NASA is deploying “cutting edge” spatial technology to tackle malaria outbreaks before they happen, scientist Tatiana Loboda told AFP. She is applying her expertise in geo-spatial and risk modelling — coupled with a background in predicting wildfire outbreaks in the US — to identify potential hotspots so medicines and health workers can be mobilized in advance. “A lot of people use a little spatial modelling… but not to the same depth and capabilities as we re doing here,” said Loboda, a professor at Maryland University. The satellites provide meteorological data, including land surface temperatures, atmospheric water content and information about land cover, including forest, shrubland, settlements or water. These are then combined with socio-economic data gathered by teams of researchers carrying out in-depth surveys with sample populations in the field. The project is only in its third year but Loboda s team has already seen a high correlation between the rate of deforestation and the disease. One unproven theory is that these areas — often dotted with logging sites, mines and plantations — are host to a disproportionate number of migrant or seasonal workers, bringing with them new strains of the parasite. The Maryland University team is working closely with local government and military scientists, collecting data from civilians and troops respectively. But that brings challenges in a country where the armed forces keep their operations shrouded in mystery. “We re not allowed to ask where they go,” Loboda told AFP in Yangon, describing it as “like working blindfolded”. This is coupled with a lack of access to Myanmar s myriad conflict areas. “I m used to working with big data,” Loboda bemoaned. “I want to blanket the whole country with random locations… but I can t.” The project is not immune to geopolitics either. The state of US-Myanmar relations can complicate meetings with the military in the capital Naypyidaw. “Sometimes I can go, sometimes I can t,” Loboda said.

Egypt s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi held a meeting on Sunday with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli and Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohammed Shaker to discuss the developments on the establishment of the Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant, said presidential spokesperson Bassam Radi. Shaker clarified that the pre-construction works are underway, including site preparation, design activities, the completion of infrastructure facilities and the preparation of equipment necessary for the construction of the plants, added Radi. Radi noted that Sisi asked that the necessary technical and legal measures be taken to commence the construction in accordance with the highest standards of nuclear safety and security. Sisi asserted that the energy produced by the Dabaa plant will provide the necessary power for the country s economic and social development plans as well as for the current and future needs of its people. In December 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi signed a contract to begin work on the Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant. Construction is expected to start in 2020, according to Alexei Likhachev, Chief Executive Officer of Russia s state nuclear corporation ROSATOM. The plant is expected to be fully built by 2022. Russia will loan Egypt $25 billion to finance building and operating the plant. Egypt will pay an interest rate of three percent annually. Installment payments will begin on October 15, 2029.

India s space programme suffered a huge setback Saturday after losing contact with an unmanned spacecraft moments before it was due to make a historic soft landing on the Moon. Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought to comfort glum scientists and a stunned nation from mission control in Bangalore, saying India was still “proud” and clasping the visibly emotional space agency head in a lengthy hug. Blasting off in July, the emerging Asian giant had hoped to become just the fourth country after the United States, Russia and regional rival China to make a successful Moon landing, and the first on the lunar South Pole. But in the early hours of Saturday local time, as Modi looked on and millions watched nationwide with bated breath, the Vikram lander — named after the father of India s space programme — went silent just 2.1 kilometers (1.3 miles) above the lunar surface. Its descent had been going “as planned and normal performance was observed”, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) chairman Kailasavadivoo Sivan said. “Subsequently the communication from the lander to the ground station was lost,” he said after initial applause turned to bewilderment at the operations room. “The data is being analysed.” The Chandrayaan-2 (“Moon Vehicle 2”) orbiter, which will circle and study the Moon remotely for a year, is however “healthy, intact, functioning normally and safely in the lunar orbit”, the ISRO said. Consoler-in-chief Freshly re-elected Modi had hoped to bask in the glory of a successful mission, but on Saturday he deftly turned consoler-in-chief in a speech at mission control broadcast live on television and to his 50 million Twitter followers. “Sisters and brothers of India, resilience and tenacity are central to India s ethos. In our glorious history of thousands of years, we have faced moments that may have slowed us, but they have never crushed our spirit,” he said. “We have bounced back again,” he added. “When it comes to our space programme, the best is yet to come.” Other Indians also took to Twitter to offer words of encouragement. “The important thing is we took off and had the Hope and Belief we can,” said Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan. Indian media offered succor by quoting a NASA factsheet that said out of 109 lunar missions in the past six decades, 48 have failed. Chandrayaan-2 took off on July 22 carrying an orbiter, lander and rover almost entirely designed and made in India — the mission cost a relatively modest $140 million — a week after an initial launch was halted just before blast-off. ISRO had acknowledged before the soft landing that it was a complex maneuver, which Sivan called “15 minutes of terror”. It was carrying rover Pragyan — “wisdom” in Sanskrit — which was due to emerge several hours after touchdown to scour the Moon s surface, including for water. According to Mathieu Weiss, a representative in India for France s space agency CNES, this is vital to determining whether humans could spend extended periods on the Moon. That would mean the Moon being used one day as a pitstop on the way to Mars — the next objective of governments and private spacefaring programs such as Elon Musk s Space X. Space superpower In March Modi hailed India as a “space superpower” after it shot down a low-orbiting satellite, a move prompting criticism for the amount of “space junk” created. Asia s third-largest economy also hopes to tap into the commercial possibilities of space. China in January became the first to land a rover on the far side of the Moon. In April, Israel s attempt failed at the last minute when its craft apparently crashed onto the lunar surface. India is also preparing Gaganyaan, its first manned space mission, and wants to land a probe on Mars. In 2014, it became only the fourth nation to put a satellite into orbit around the Red Planet, and in 2017 India s space agency launched 104 satellites in a single mission. The country s principal scientific adviser, K Vijay Raghavan, described Chandrayaan-2 as “very complex, and a significant technological leap from previous missions of ISRO” in a series of tweets on Saturday. Raghavan said the orbiter will help India better understand the Moon s evolution, mapping minerals and water molecules “using its eight state-of-the-art scientific instruments”. “After a moment of despondency, it is back to work!! It is inspirational to see this characteristic of science in collective action. Kudos to ISRO,” he added.

Seven months after Huang Yu s pet cat Garlic died, the British shorthair was given a 10th life. Born on July 21, the new Garlic was created by Chinese firm Sinogene, becoming the Beijing-based company s first successfully copied cat. The pet-cloning outfit has made more than 40 pet dogs — a procedure that costs a hefty 380,000 yuan ($53,000), while the price for a cat comes in at 250,000 yuan ($35,000). Mi Jidong, the company s chief executive officer, told AFP that despite the high price tag, not all clients were high earners. “In fact, a large proportion of customers are young people who have only graduated in the last few years,” he said. “Whatever the origin of pets, owners will see them as part of the family. Pet cloning meets the emotional needs of young generations.” Huang, 23, was overjoyed on first seeing Garlic s second incarnation, saying the “similarity between the two cats is more than 90 percent”. “When Garlic died, I was very sad,” said Huang. “I couldn t face the facts because it was a sudden death. I blame myself for not taking him to the hospital in time, which led to his death.” The happy owner says he hopes the personality of the new Garlic is as similar to his old white-and-grey cat as its appearance. With a growing pet market in China, and a huge appetite among their owners for spending, Mi thinks the market for pet cloning is also set to rocket. According to a report by Pet Fair Asia and pet website Goumin.com, pet-related spending in China reached 170.8 bn yuan ($23.7 billion) in 2018. And the country s scientists have big aspirations for their next cloning challenge, working on the theory that if cats can be cloned, so can pandas. Chen Dayuan — an expert at the Chinese Academy of Sciences who has been researching giant panda cloning for 20 years — said there could even be scope for cats to give birth to cloned baby pandas, which are smaller than baby cats despite their large size when fully grown. Pet cloning is illegal in many countries but approved in countries including South Korea and the US, where singer Barbra Streisand announced last year she had cloned her dog. The first major success in animal cloning was Dolly the sheep, born in Britain in 1996 as the first mammal cloned from an adult cell. In 2005, researchers in South Korea cloned the first dog. The Sooam Biotech Research Foundation in Seoul says it has cloned some 800 pets and charges $100,000 each.

An artificial-intelligence app that allows users to insert their faces in place of film and TV characters has caused controversy in China. Zao has sparked privacy fears and suggestions it could be used to defeat systems using facial recognition. It appeared in China on 29 August and has proven wildly popular. But it has led to developers Momo apologising for its end-user agreement, which stripped users of the rights to their images. And as the app went viral, Zao s owners aired fears users were devouring its expensively purchased server capacity. Its popularity has also lead to assurances from Alipay, part of the Chinese web giant Alibaba, saying that it s impossible for so-called deepfake videos created by the app to be used to cheat its Smile to Pay facial-recognition system. What s Zao and why is it so controversial? Zao is a face-swapping app that uses clips from films and TV shows, convincingly changing a character s face by using selfies from the user s phone. But some users had noted the app s terms and conditions "gave the developers the global right to permanently use any image created on the app for free", Hong Kong s South China Morning Post reported. "Moreover, the developers had the right to transfer this authorisation to any third party without further permission from the user," the paper said, adding experts believed this broke Chinese law. Momo had subsequently deleted the controversial clause and issued an apology, saying its app would not store users biometric information nor "excessively collect user information", Shanghai-based The Paper said. But popular social media platform WeChat quickly banned users from uploading Zao videos via its platform, citing "security risks". The app may also be a victim of its own success, with Zao saying, on its Sina Weibo social media account, it had used up a third of its monthly server capacity, budgeted at 7m yuan (£805,000), on its first night. And the following day, as users complained of a slow service, it said, "with a heavy heart", servers were at fully capacity. Could Zao be used to defraud banks? Alipay, the world s largest mobile payment platform, with over 870 million users, has assured its users videos created in Zao cannot be used to defraud its systems. Many Alipay users take advantage of its Smile to Pay system, which allows payment verification by the user looking into a camera at a shop or restaurant s point-of-sale. Alibaba, which owns Alipay, says it uses sophisticated anti-spoofing algorithms to make sure it isn t fooled by still photographs or deepfake videos. "There is a lot of online face-changing software - but no matter how realistic, it is impossible to break through the facial payment system", the company said on its Weibo account. Even before the system attempts to match the face, it detects whether the presented image is a still, video or software simulation. "This avoids fraud caused by face-changing technology," Alibaba said. Dangerous AI offers to write fake news Fake news is reinforced by false memories Instagram has a plan to tackle fake news Momo also moved to calm fears Zao could be used for fraud, clarifying Alipay s point it only used and adapted still photographs for its deepfake videos. "The facial payment security threshold is extremely high, and face-changing technology realised by only one photo can t break through the security system," the developers said. It was "completely impossible" for deepfakes of this kind to threaten payment security, Momo told The Paper. And last year, academic Pan Helin told China Daily Alipay s facial recognition was "theoretically a more secure and convenient method than the conventional use of passwords". What s the reaction been? Concerns over the app reached state-run Chinese press. Global Times said it was another example of "concerning" AI-powered apps "which could be used maliciously". China was already considering tightening regulations governing AI face-stitching technology, the paper said. And lawyer Zhang Xinnian told it the laws governing phone apps terms and conditions needed to be tightened. Zao s initial terms "violated user privacy and once personal information is leaked and abused it could lead to criminal incidents", he added. Meanwhile, law professor Zhu Wei told state news agency Xinhua: "People are using a mobile client that involves information about personal identity, property, scan codes and mobile payments and they can t see exactly what information is obtained by the app, so it is very dangerous." A commentary in the Beijing News even asked whether the app could become "a threat to national security". With genuine concerns about national and personal security from Zao and future deepfake services, "it is necessary to regulate them as soon as possible with clear legal provisions", it added. A Guangzhou Daily editorial said: "Changing-face videos is fun but the potential security risks cannot be ignored." And The Paper said while Zao s popularity would be short-lived, its arrival had made it easier for dark actors to take advantage of face-changing technology. BBC Monitoring reports and analyses news from TV, radio, web and print media around the world. You can follow BBC Monitoring on Twitter and Facebook.

An engineer has discovered prototype code in Facebook s Android app which suggests it might test hiding the number of likes a post receives. Jane Manchun Wong found the code, which has not been activated. Instagram, which is also owned by Facebook, is conducting a similar test in seven countries including Canada and Brazil, where only the account holder in the trial can see the number of likes they attract. Facebook declined to comment. Some studies have suggested the pressures of social media popularity can affect mental health, particularly in young people. Are we addicted to the like button? Ms Wong wrote a blog post about her discovery, in which she emphasised that she does not work for the tech giant. "It takes time to develop, observe, research and release experimental features like this," she said. "Experimental features could come and go. But I am certain hiding the public like counts will be beneficial to the digital wellbeing of a large chunk of users." Venture capitalist Ellen Pao tweeted that the change - if it happens - is overdue. "Social platforms have known as early as 2014 that social media impacts mental health and only now is Facebook starting to hide like counts," she said. Instagram said it was not yet ready to share the results of its experiment. "We hope this test will remove the pressure of how many likes a post will receive, so you can focus on sharing the things you love," Mia Garlick, Facebook Australia and New Zealand director of policy, said in a statement when the Instagram trial was announced.

The Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) revealed on August 29 figures about waste recycling in Egypt during the year 2017 in a report detailing statistics from the Egyptian governorates with the top five highest recycling rates. Gharbiya governorate came in first place with 97.9 percent, and Beheira came in second place with 97.5 percent. The three governorates Kafr al-Sheikh (92.3 percent), Qalyubiya (72.3 percent) and Daqahlia (0.5 percent) occupied the following three rankings. Last May, Egypt s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered concerned officials to design a new solid waste management system for overpopulated areas, aiming to enhance citizens lives on various levels, a prior statement by the presidential spokesperson said. In light of the new project, Sisi called for coordination between diverse ministries to secure the success of the solid waste management system, underscoring the importance of using accurately researched studies as well as prominent foreign expertise while working on it. Solutions for two major issues faced by Egyptian society, water and air pollution, are included in the new system s strategic plan, according to the same official statement. A meeting led by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly followed up on the plan s implementation. During the meeting, he unveiled its three main programs and vowed that they would be launched as soon as possible. The first program s main goal is to establish eight trash sorting facilities in five of Egypt s governorates including Cairo, Daqahlia, Sharqiya, Fayoum, and Luxor. Another 15 will also be installed in the seven Egyptian governorates Qalyubiya, Damietta, Cairo, Ismailia, Beheira, Matrouh, and Beni Suef during 2019-2020. The second program will focus on financially supporting garbage services for waste collection, street cleaning and more. The third program will launch awareness campaigns across all the governorates and support the recycling sector.

Google will pay $150-200 million to settle allegations YouTube violated a children s privacy law while gathering data to better target its adverts, US media reports said Friday. The US Federal Trade Commission agreed the amount of the settlement against YouTube parent Google, which if approved by the Justice Department would be the largest settlement in a case involving children s privacy, the New York Times reported. The allegations against YouTube were made by privacy groups who said the platform had violated laws protecting children s privacy by gathering data on users under the age of 13 without obtaining permission from parents, Politico reported. The FTC is expected to announce its decision on the settlement in September, the New York Times said. US regulators have long argued Google fails to protect children from harmful content and data collection on its YouTube platform. Advocacy group The Center for Digital Democracy said in a statement that the proposed settlement would be “woefully low” given Google s size and revenue, and called on the FTC to “enjoin Google from committing further violations” of children s privacy law. Google remains the money-making engine for parent company Alphabet, with most of its revenue coming from digital ads, which accounted for $116 billion of the $136 billion the Silicon Valley-based company took in last year. In January, France s CNIL data watchdog slapped Google with a record 50-million-euro fine for failing to meet the EU s tough General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into force early last year. Google is appealing the fine. Fellow US tech giant Facebook recently settled a record $5 billion fine with the US Federal Trade Commission for misusing users private data.

The Ministry of Environment is set to implement a new regulation plan on Egypt s natural resources, which includes applying a visiting fee according to a decision revealed by the Official Gazette. Many of Egypt s natural sites such beaches and waterfalls have seen a significant flow of visitors and trips, prompting Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly to assign the concerned ministries as well as governorates to put these newly issued administrative decisions into practice. The plan includes the application of a US$5 fee for foreigners and LE25 for Egyptians during the day, to be doubled during the night while car entry fees are set at $5 for small cars and $10 for big cars. The Ministry of Environment s Natural Reserves Sector is set to launch the fee service in the Red Sea as well Sinai natural sites, to be imposed on entries and various activities. These fees will include yachts, varying from $10 to $60 depending on their sizes. No further details were revealed regarding which particular sites would be affected.

The G7 has agreed to spend 20 million euros ($22 million) on the Amazon, mainly to send fire-fighting aircraft to tackle the huge blazes engulfing many parts of the world s biggest rainforest, the presidents of France and Chile announced Monday. The G7 club — comprising Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States — has also agreed to support a medium-term reforestation plan which will be unveiled at the UN in September, France s Emmanuel Macron and Chile s Sebastian Pinera said at the G7 summit in southwest France. Brazil would have to agree to any reforestation plan, as would indigenous communities living in the Amazon. The initiative was announced after G7 leaders meeting in the resort of Biarritz held talks on the environment, focusing on the record number of fires destroying chunks of the Amazon. Macron had declared the situation in the Amazon region an “international crisis” and made it one of the summit s priorities. He has threatened to block a huge new trade deal between the EU and Latin America unless Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a climate change skceptic, takes serious steps to protect the forest from logging and mining. “We must respond to the call of the forest which is burning today in the Amazon,” Macron said Monday. Nearly 80,000 forest fires have been detected in Brazil since the beginning of the year, a little over half in the massive Amazon basin. Bolsonaro has lashed out at Macron over his criticism and suggested that NGOs could be setting the fires to embarrass him — without giving any evidence to back the claim. But at the weekend he finally caved into international pressure to save a region crucial for maintaining a stable global climate, deploying two aircraft to douse the fires and authorising the army to help tackle the blazes. Speaking in Biarritz, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said new planting was needed “to preserve this universal heritage, which is absolutely essential for the well-being of the world s population.” He said that the issue would be discussed during the UN General Assembly in New York in September.

Skimming low over the gleaming white glaciers on Greenland s coast in a modified 1940s plane, three NASA scientists, led by an Elvis-impersonating oceanographer, waited to drop a probe into the water beneath them. They are part of Oceans Melting Greenland — or OMG —- a mission that has flown around the vast island for four summers, dropping probes to collect data on how oceans contribute to the rapid melt of Greenland s ice. Dressed in a blue jumpsuit and with thick sideburns that give a hint of his occasional pastime impersonating Elvis, Joshua Willis, 44, is the oceanographer from NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory behind the project — and, along with his wife, its name. “We re looking at probably meters of sea level rise in the next hundred years and that s a huge threat to hundreds of millions of people around the world, so a bit of alarm and OMG is probably warranted,” he said. Passing over rocky fjords, dazzling glaciers and icebergs, some dozens of meters (feet) high looming out of the water, Willis and the crew took turns dropping the 1.5-metre cylindrical probes and watching as the data came in showing the ocean s temperature and salinity. Ice cube under a hair dryer Willis is investigating how warmer layers of water off the coast come into contact with glaciers and how this effects how quickly they melt. “A lot of people think of the ice here as melting from the air warming, sort of like an ice cube under a hair dryer, but in fact the oceans are also eating away at the ice s edges,” Willis said. OMG surveys Greenlandic glaciers in the winter, comparing it with the data they collect about the oceans in the summer over a five-year period, which Willis hopes will allow researchers to better predict sea-level rise. The island has three quarters bordering the Arctic ocean and is 85 percent covered in ice — if this ice sheet were to disappear completely, it would raise the ocean level by seven meters (23 feet). The Arctic region has warmed twice as fast as the global average, and Greenland, a resource-rich Danish possession, has become a focal point for climate research — as well an object of desire for US President Donald Trump, who scrapped a trip to Denmark over its dismissal of his attempts to buy the autonomous territory. Greenland a challenge NASA — best know for the moon landings and space travel — started to study the earth s climate in greater depth from the 1970s when its inter-planetary exploration budget was reduced, using its satellites to look at the earth. Today it has more than a dozen satellites in orbit monitoring earth s seas, ice, land and atmosphere, along with missions like OMG, which Willis hopes will provide data to give better predictions of sea-level rise around the globe. At the rear of the refitted DC3, built in 1942 for the Canadian air force during World War II, project manager Ian McCubbin took his turn by a chute holding the plastic probe, waiting for the order to drop it. Sucked out into the cold air below, the four-foot cylinder parachuted into the water and after a nervous wait, started transmitting data to the team on the plane. With 20 years experience flying with the JPL, McCubbin also organizes the mission s logistics from the remote airfields it flies out of during the summer. “Dealing with Greenland s remoteness is a unique challenge,” McCubbin said on a break between dropping probes, a baseball cap pulled down over his eyes. Limited communications and transport links and the island s unpredictable weather all make keeping the mission in the air more complicated, but McCubbin said he was happy to put up with the difficulties. “The relevance of this project makes it exciting to work on, given the importance to our society, our children, our children s children,” he said. Tough decisions ahead Ian Fenty, an investigator with OMG, sat in front of a laptop and a bank of electronics receiving the signals from the probes. After each probe hit the water, data started to upload almost immediately onto the small screen on the laptop on the tray table in front of Fenty. “The data we re collecting are super valuable because they re allowing us for the very first time to quantitatively relate ocean temperature changes with the melting of the ice sheet,” he said. After two hours in the air along the coast of eastern Greenland, the plane turned and headed back to base at the remote village of Kulusuk, flying low over icebergs and pods of whales in the sea below. After the flight, Willis, wearing Ray Bans, a leather jacket with the collar turned up and a guitar, gave a performance of his Elvis-inspired “Climate Rock” to diners and visiting journalists in the village s hotel, explaining the difference between the weather and climate. For Willis, the song, like his work with OMG, are all part of trying to get his message about climate change and sea-level rise across. “I feel like as a climate scientist I have a responsibility to explain what we re finding to the world,” he said. “We have some tough decisions ahead of us if we want to avoid the worst parts of climate change.”