China, Korea, Egypt report rise in virus cases as curbs ease

June 14, 2020

BEIJING (AP) — China reported its highest daily total of new coronavirus cases in two months on Sunday and infections in South Korea also rose, showing how the disease can come back as curbs on business and travel are lifted.

Meanwhile, Egypt reported its biggest daily increase on Saturday. Infections were rising in some U.S. states as President Donald Trump pushed for businesses to reopen despite warnings by public health experts.

China had 57 new confirmed cases in the 24 hours through midnight Saturday, the National Health Commission reported. That was the highest since mid-April and included 36 in the capital, Beijing, a city of 20 million people.

Beijing's cases all were linked to its biggest wholesale food market, which was shut down Saturday, the official China News Service reported, citing the city's disease control agency. It said 27 worked there and nine had direct or indirect exposure to it.

The Xinfadi market was closed after 50 people tested positive for the virus in the Chinese capital's first confirmed cases in 50 days. The world is seeing more than 100,000 newly confirmed cases every day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

China, where the pandemic began in December, and other countries that suffered early on including South Korea, Italy and Spain have seen numbers of new infections decline. Brazil, India, the United States and other countries are seeing large increases.

China responded to the outbreak with the world's most intensive anti-disease controls, isolating cities with some 60 million people and shutting down much of its economy in steps that later were imitated by some other governments.

The ruling Communist party eased most limits on business and travel after declaring victory over the disease in March. Some curbs still are in place including a ban on most foreign travelers arriving in the country.

On Saturday, authorities in Beijing locked down 11 residential communities near the Xinfadi market. White fencing sealed off a road leading to apartment buildings and drivers were required to show identification to enter the area.

South Korea's government reported 34 more coronavirus cases, adding to an upward trend in infections. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 30 of the new cases were in the greater Seoul area, where half of the country’s 51 million people live. New cases have been linked to nightlife establishments, church services, a large-scale e-commerce warehouse and door-to-door sellers.

The Egyptian Health Ministry announced 1,677 new confirmed cases. Egypt is the Arab world’s most populous country and has its highest coronavirus death toll. The country has reported 1,484 deaths and 42,980 confirmed cases.

In the United States, the number of new cases in the southwestern state of Arizona has risen to more than 1,000 per day from fewer than 400 when the state’s shutdown was lifted in mid-May, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.

Gov. Doug Ducey is not requiring Arizona residents to wear masks in public despite warnings by public health experts outside the government. Elsewhere, bar owners in New Orleans were preparing to reopen. San Francisco restaurants resumed outdoor seating Friday and the California government allowed hotels, zoos, museums and aquariums to reopen.

The states of Utah and Oregon suspended further reopening of their economies due to a spike in cases. The latest Chinese cases raised the mainland’s total to 83.132, with 4,634 deaths, according to the Health Commission. South Korea has reported 12,085 cases and 277 deaths.

Also Sunday, China's air regulator announced China Southern Airlines was required to suspend flights between Dhaka, Bangladesh, and the southern city of Guangzhou for four weeks after 17 passengers on Thursday's flight tested positive for the virus.

Beijing allows each airline to make one flight per week on each route. Under rules announced June 4, a route will be suspended for one week if five passengers on a flight test positive and four weeks if the number rises to 10.

In Europe, France’s highest administrative court ruled Saturday that virus concerns no longer justify banning public protests. The Council of State's decision allows for demonstrations and marches as long as health protections are respected. Events must be declared in advance to local authorities and not deemed a risk to public order.

The ruling came as an unauthorized protest against police violence and racial injustice wound down in Paris. Police had stopped at least 15,000 protesters from a planned march through the city Saturday, citing virus-related restrictions on any gathering of more than 10 people.

Associated Press writer Hyung-Jin Kim in Seoul, South Korea, and AP journalists worldwide contributed to this report.

Despite risks, Greek islands keen to reopen to tourists

June 13, 2020

MYKONOS, Greece (AP) — The Greek island of Mykonos' newest bar-restaurant, Pelican, seemed to appear from nowhere. Tables, light fixtures and staff members with matching black face masks were still being slotted into place as Greeks visiting the island for a long holiday weekend trickled in to check out the place. The owner expects a slow slummer but says he's in a hurry to get back to business.

Greece is, too. Heavily reliant on tourism, the country is officially reopening to foreigners on Monday after closing its borders to most during the coronavirus pandemic. Its hopes are pinned on popular tourist destinations such as Mykonos and the islands of Rhodes, Corfu, Crete and Santorini, where regular ferry service already resumed and direct international flights are set to restart on July 1.

The Greek government has taken a gamble in deciding to relax COVID-19 health inspections at ports and airports in order to avoid another crippling recession, having only recently emerged from an economically painful period sparked by the international financial crisis.

Pelican's owner, Vasilis Theodorou, has a view of the situation that is more steadfast than starry-eyed. Mykonos would normally be packed in early June, but it's beaches were empty. Tourism might be down by as much as 80% this year, “so we’re waiting for the 20%, and we’re happy,” Theodorou said.

“No matter how much we wish for it and want it, it won’t be more than that," he said. "We expect that tourists from central Europe will come first, and hopefully Americans at a later stage. They are our best customers.”

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis acknowledged Saturday that Greece is prepared for a huge drop from the 33 million visitors who came to Greece last year. Addressing foreign journalists Saturday during a visit to Santorini, Mitsotakis went on a full sales pitch, touting everything from local products to the possibilities of year-round tourism in Greece..from

“We don’t know the real impact of (a truncated tourist season) on GDP,” he said, “A lot will depend on whether people feel comfortable to travel and whether we can project Greece as a safe destination.”

Timely and strictly enforced lockdown measures have so far kept the infection rate in Greece low and the death toll below 200. But reopening means islands — many with only basic health facilities and previously sheltered from the outbreak on the Greek mainland — will again be receiving visitors from around the world far in excess of the local population.

Mykonos Mayor Konstantinos Koukas told the AP that islanders feel prepared and have clear government guidelines. “We want to open back up and we are heading into the 2020 season with optimism,” he said. “But we are fully aware that ... (it) will be nothing like the season in 2019 — and hopefully nothing like the season in 2021.”

An island that to many epitomizes high-life and hedonism, Mykonos at this time of year would normally have high-paying customers spilling out of the bars and competing with cruise ship passengers for restaurant tables. VIP watchers have spotted pop star Katy Perry, soccer great Cristiano Ronaldo and other celebrities in recent summers.

This year, rented cars fill fenced-off lots, and most stores remain padlocked. Stray cats and the island’s mascot, a large, light pink pelican, roam the streets for company. Mosaic artist Irene Syrianou has kept her workshop open despite the lack of customers. “We watch the news and hope for the best,” she says, cracking pieces of marble into chips with a hammer.

“Nearly all my customers are American, whether it’s buying pieces of art, making orders online, or attending classes I give during the summer,” she said, before adding with a chuckle: “So it’s going to be a tough year. But I’m an artist and I’ve gone hungry before.”

The government's reopening policy has been criticized by the left-wing Syriza party, which argued tougher controls should be kept in place and arrivals limited to those recently tested in their countries of origin.

Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias insisted Friday that a safety net had been built for the islands — with connections to each other and to mainland hospitals for testing and health evacuations. Doctors and support staff will be deployed with the help of more than 100 mobile units in cars and speed boats. The Health Ministry will also have 11 futuristic-looking “transit capsules” for patients heading to intensive care facilities.

Greece’s gamble follows a decade of tourism growth and increasing reliance on the industry, with annual visitor numbers more than doubling since 2010 to 34 million last year and revenue up 80% to some 18 billion euros ($20.2 billion).

During many of those years, the country teetered on the brink of bankruptcy and exit from the euro currency bloc, while Greeks endured harsh economic austerity in return for three international bailouts.

Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis, once Greece’s top official for tax and revenues, said Friday that the country is determined to support its tourism industry. “We’re sending a clear message to the world's traveling public that we won’t take a step back, either in health safeguards or in opening up the country.”

And as the prime minister noted Saturday, there's always next year. “Hopefully in 2021, we’ll have a vaccine; 2021 will be a bumper year,” Mitsotakis said.

Iliana Mier on Mykonos and Demetris Nellas in Athens contributed.

2 Sydney statues of British explorer James Cook vandalized

June 15, 2020

SYDNEY (AP) — An Australian state government leader said on Monday she was considering tougher laws to protect monuments after two statues of British explorer James Cook were vandalized in Sydney. Two women were charged with defacing a statue with spray paint in downtown Hyde Park over Saturday night. Another statue was discovered spray painted in the eastern suburb of Randwick on Sunday morning in an unrelated attack, police said.

Cities around the world are taking steps to remove statues that represent cultural or racial oppression. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she would consider toughening laws to deter future vandalism.

“I wish it didn’t come to this and I want to stress that it’s only a very, very small percentage of the population that’s engaging in this activity, the vast majority of us don’t condone it, we think it’s disrespectful, it’s un-Australian,” she told reporters.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week apologized for words he used last week to reject calls for his Sydney electoral district of Cook to be renamed. Cook came ashore in the district in 1770 in what was to become the site of the first British colony in Australia.

Morrison apologized for saying Australia has been colonized without slavery after critics pointed out that tens of thousands of South Pacific islanders had been forced to labor on Australian sugar cane plantations in the 19th century and Australian indigenous people had been forced to work for wages that were never paid.

A part-time employee of the minor Greens party, Xiaoran Shi, 28, and her alleged accomplice Charmaine Morrison-Mills, 27, were released on bail from a Sydney court on Sunday on charges of damaging property and possessing a graffiti implement over the Hyde Park statue.

Greens state lawmaker David Shoebridge, for whom Shi works, said he was aware of the allegations. “They were not engaged in employment at the time of the incident which occurred well outside of work hours,” Shoebridge said in a statement.

Dana Reserve reopens after facelift

By JT - Jun 16,2020

AMMAN — The Kingdom’s largest nature reserve, the Dana Biosphere Reserve in southern Jordan, has reopened after rehabilitating its facilities to receive visitors after the tourism sector ground to a halt as a result of precautionary coronavirus measures and lockdowns.

Director of the reserve Amer Ruffou’ said that “good tourist activity” is being witnessed at the facility as local tourism is returning back to normal as part of the recovery phase following the government’s decision to open tourist attractions, hotels and restaurants across the country, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Ruffou’ said in a press release that the Dana Biosphere Reserve in the Tafileh Governorate, which covers a “spectacular landscape” along the face of the Great Rift Valley and is home to a variety of wildlife, had refurbished its facilities, including the Guest House, Al Rummanah Camp and the Old Tourist Village, as part of its preparations to welcome visitors.

The nature reserve’s management also launched promotional programs to attract tourist groups, he said, noting that the day and overnight visits are subject to public safety and health protection regulations to curb the spread of COVID-19, which are being observed by both visitors and workers.

Ruffou’ noted that a special team had been assigned to enforce safety precautions according to government instructions, with temperature-taking devices and sanitisers at the entrances of the guest house and the camp.

He said that the guest house consists of 24 hotel rooms and offers quality food and drinks, while the Al Rummanah Camp includes 30 tourist tents equipped with health facilities. The camp offers traditional meals, hot drinks and overnight accommodation.

Source: The Jordan Times.
Link: http://jordantimes.com/news/local/dana-reserve-reopens-after-facelift.

Thousands form human chain in Berlin against racism

June 14, 2020

BERLIN (AP) — Thousands of people formed a human chain through Berlin on Sunday in a message against racism, discrimination and social inequality among other causes. Organizers of Sunday’s “Indivisible” demonstration, who planned a nine-kilometer (5 ½-mile) chain from the Brandenburg Gate southeast to the Neukoelln neighborhood, were told to require participants to wear masks. Protesters also were asked to keep well apart.

They were linked by colored ribbons, forming what organizers called a “ribbon of solidarity.” People appeared to keep to the hygiene restrictions during the event, which lasted a bit over an hour. Police put the number of participants at about 5,000, while organizers estimated it at over 20,000. There were smaller demonstrations in other German cities.

Berlin recently lifted coronavirus-related limits on the number of people who can attend demonstrations, though people are still required to keep at least 1.5 meters (five feet) apart in public. Last weekend, at least 15,000 people attended an anti-racism protest, in some cases closely packed together. That prompted criticism from officials, although they expressed understanding for the cause. It was one of many demonstrations worldwide in the aftermath of the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man, who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee to his neck.

Polish president calls LGBT 'ideology' worse than communism

June 13, 2020

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish President Andrzej Duda accused the LGBT rights movement Saturday of promoting a viewpoint more harmful than communism and said he agreed with another conservative politician who stated that “LGBT is not people, it's an ideology.”

Duda made his comments in the small southwestern town of Brzeg as he campaigns for reelection in Poland, a predominantly Catholic nation that spent more than four decades under communist governments.

Gay rights is emerging as a key campaign theme in the presidential election as the race grows close between Duda, backed by the nationalist conservative ruling party, and Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, who has called for tolerance for gays and lesbians.

Duda, who is 48, told his supporters that his parents' generation did not struggle to cast off communism only to now accept “an ideology” that he thinks "is even more destructive to the human being." The president said that during Poland's communist era, regimes ensured survival by indoctrinating the youngest generation.

“That was Bolshevism. It was the ideologizing of children,” he said. “Today, there are also attempts to push an ideology on us and our children, but different. It’s totally new, but it is also neo-Bolshevism.”

Earlier in the week, Duda signed a declaration drafted for the stated purpose of helping families that included language on “protecting children from LGBT ideology” with a ban on “propagating LGBT ideology in public institutions."

Many conservative politicians in Poland say they are not against gay men and lesbians as individuals, but insist they oppose the goals of a civil rights movement they claim is imported from abroad and threatens to sexualize young people.

But gay and lesbian Poles and liberal Poles say government officials are adopting a language of dehumanization. They believe Duda and others are targeting homosexuals to curry favor with the powerful Catholic church — which faces allegations of covering up clerical abuse — and shore up support among conservative voters ahead of the election.

Some analysts also suspect that Duda and the governing Law and Justice party are making a bid for far-right voters who will mostly support the candidate of a smaller party, Confederation, in the election's first round but whose votes will be up for grabs in a runoff.

The election is scheduled for June 28, with a second round featuring the two top candidates two weeks later on July 12 if none of the contenders wins at least 50% outright. While there are now 10 candidates in the race, polls predict a runoff between Duda and Trzaskowski, who belongs to the centrist and pro-European Union Civic Platform party.

In recent days, a string of prominent conservative politicians have spoken out about “LGBT ideology.” The deputy head of the governing party, Joachim Brudzinski, wrote Thursday on Twitter that “Poland without LGBT is most beautiful.” His tweet included an image of Jesus and eggs in a bird nest — a bird family “realizing God's plan,” he said.

Asked about the tweet at a Friday rally, presidential challenger Trzaskowski said: “If you use the words ‘Poland without someone’ — and it doesn't matter who — that is dividing Poles, and we have had enough of dividing Poles.”

“I think anyone who uses this kind of language will pay a political price,” Trzaskowski said. Another conservative lawmaker got kicked off air in the middle of a Friday interview with private broadcaster TVN for saying “LGBT is not people, it's an ideology.”

Duda said at the rally that he agreed with that idea. “They are trying to convince us that they are people, but this is an ideology,” Duda said to applause and chants of “Andrzej Duda!”.

World joins US protests but leaders restrained about Trump

June 13, 2020

BERLIN (AP) — People have taken to the streets of Berlin, London, Paris and other cities around the world to demonstrate in support of Black Lives Matter protesters in the United States and to vent anger over President Donald Trump’s response to the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota.

But at the top, the leaders of traditional allies of the United States have taken pains to avoid criticizing Trump directly, walking a fine line to reconcile international diplomacy with domestic outrage.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau let silence speak for itself when asked to comment on the decision to forcibly clear peaceful protesters outside the White House to make way for a Trump photo-op at a nearby church, standing pensively at his lectern apparently mulling his answer for more than 20 seconds before answering that Canada also suffered from “systemic discrimination” — never mentioning the American president.

“We need to be allies in the fight against discrimination, we need to listen, we need to learn, and we need to work hard to fix, to figure out how we can be part of the solution on fixing things,” he said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel sidestepped questions from ZDF public television about Trump last week, saying the killing of Floyd was "really, really terrible. Racism is something terrible, and society in the United States is very polarized.”

When pressed, she conceded that Trump’s “political style is a very controversial one” but would go no further when asked if she had confidence in him. A combination of factors are at work, including diplomatic courtesy but also pragmatism based on the possibility that Trump will be reelected to another four years in November, said Sudha David-Wilp, deputy director of the Berlin office of the German Marshall Fund think tank.

“It wouldn't be proper for his peers to criticize, especially when it's very obvious that they are concerned that the United States is going through an incredibly difficult time — you have the triple whammy of an economic depression, health crisis and now, of course, social unrest due to questions of racism,” she said.

But she said it's difficult for leaders like Trudeau and Merkel, who "are seen as defenders of liberal democracy, and President Trump has trampled on many of the values that undergird liberal democracy, such as the protection of minorities, such as the freedom of assembly, such as the freedom of the press.”

Merkel’s verbal gymnastics could have been anticipated — in more than 14 years as chancellor, she has steered clear of ever critiquing allied world leaders — but even leaders who typically support Trump, like Hungary’s Viktor Orban or Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu have stayed silent on this issue.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has sought to cultivate close ties with Trump, called Floyd's death “appalling” and said people have a “right to protest to make their feelings known about injustices such as what happened to George Floyd” but urged peaceful demonstrations.

Britain has seen several protests turn violent, and last weekend demonstrators in Bristol toppled the statue of a 17th-century slave trader. They also spray-painted an iconic statue of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill in London, calling him “a racist.”

Asked Wednesday in Parliament to name Trump's good qualities, Johnson stuck to generalities. “Mr. Trump, he has, amongst many other things, he is president of the United States, which is our most important ally in the world today,” Johnson said. "Whatever people may say about it, whatever those on the left may say about it, the United States is a bastion of peace and freedom and has been for most of my lifetime.”

France’s Emmanuel Macron, who has in the past steered clear of criticizing Trump specifically but has been vocal in speaking out against policies like the wine tariffs introduced by the administration, has not made a public appearance since Floyd was killed on May 25.

Floyd died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee into his neck for several minutes even after he stopped responding. Three days later, another black man writhed on the street in Paris as a white police officer pressed a knee to his neck during an arrest.

France had several protests over the past week, with growing pressure on the government to address accusations of brutality and racism within the police force. Macron’s office said the president is closely monitoring the events in France and the United States but “he did not wish to speak for the moment.” He's expected to address the nation Sunday but his office did not give further details.

A few leaders have spoken out more strongly, like Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who criticized the response to the protests in the U.S. as “authoritarian” when pressed in parliament last week for an explicit response on Floyd’s killing.

“I share and stand in solidarity with the demonstrations that are taking place in the United States,” he said. And Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg told the country’s NTB news agency last week that she was “deeply concerned about what is happening in the United States.”

“The fundamental challenge of making minorities feel part of a society is essential. We must all work with that,” she said. “One has to try to bridge the gap. It is not good for any society to be as deeply divided as the United States is now.”

Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo said last week that it "cannot be right that, in the 21st century, the United States, this great bastion of democracy, continues to grapple with the problem of systemic racism.” And South African President Cyril Ramaphosa noted the “naked racism in the United States,” calling the protests a turning point. Neither mentioned Trump by name.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has not weighed in, but Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the situation in the U.S. “ridiculous.” “I would like to believe that before showing their zeal in protecting the rights of the ‘suppressed’ and ‘dissenters’ in other countries, U.S. authorities will start to scrupulously observe democratic standards and ensure the freedoms of their citizens at home,” she said.

Sylvie Corbet in Paris, Jill Lawless and Sylvia Hui in London, Aritz Parra in Madrid, Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Cara Anna in Johannesburg and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

Paris marchers decry racism; far right rallies in London

June 13, 2020

PARIS (AP) — Paris riot police fired tear gas Saturday to disperse a largely peaceful but unauthorized protest against police brutality and entrenched racism, as France’s minorities increasingly push back against a national doctrine of colorblindness that has failed to eradicate discrimination.

In London, far-right activists and soccer rowdies scuffled with police while trying to “guard” historical monuments that have been targeted recently by anti-racism protesters for their links to slavery and British colonialism.

The events in the two European capitals reflected the global emotion unleashed by the death of George Floyd in the United States and the ensuing reckoning with racial injustice and historical wrongs. In both cities, protesters defied restrictions on public gatherings imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Myriam Boicoulin, 31, who was born in the French Caribbean island of Martinique, said she marched in Paris on Saturday because she “wants to be heard.” “The fact of being visible is enormous,” Boicoulin said. As a black woman living in mainland France, she said, “I’m constantly obliged to adapt, to make compromises, not make waves — to be almost white, in fact.”

“It’s the first time people see us,” she told The Associated Press. “Let us breathe.” At least 15,000 people rallied in Paris, led by supporters of Adama Traore, a French black man who died in police custody in 2016 in circumstances that remain unclear despite four years of back-and-forth autopsies. No one has been charged in the case.

“We are are all demanding the same thing - fair justice for everyone,” Traore’s sister Assa told the rally. Angry shouts rose from the racially diverse crowd as a small group of white extreme-right activists climbed a building overlooking the protest and unfurled a huge banner denouncing “anti-white racism.”

Building residents then reached out of their windows and tore part of the banner down, one raising his fist in victory. Officers prevented people attending the main rally from approaching the counter-demonstrators, but didn't detain the far-right activists until two hours later, further angering the crowd below.

Riot police then fired tear gas and charged a few unruly members of the main protest, urging them to disperse. Hundreds of other protesters took a knee and stayed for hours despite the police pressure. The crowd had initially planned to march through the city, but police decided to block them from marching, citing coronavirus concerns.

Similar protests were also held Saturday in cities around France, from Rouen in Normandy in the northwest to Marseilles on the Mediterranean. Some demonstrators were encouraged that the French government responded to the past couple of weeks of Floyd-inspired protests by banning police chokeholds and launching investigations of racist comments in private Facebook and Whatsapp groups for police.

In London, a Black Lives Matter group called off a demonstration scheduled for Saturday, saying the presence of counter-protesters would make it unsafe. Some protesters still gathered at Hyde Park to denounce racism while hundreds of far-right activists demonstrated, despite strict police restrictions and warnings to stay home to contain the coronavirus.

Many from the far-right camp gathered around a statue of wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill and the Cenotaph war memorial, which were both boarded up to guard against vandalism. Officials put protective panels around the monuments amid fears that far-right activists would seek confrontations with anti-racism protesters under the guise of protecting statues.

Some activists threw bottles and cans at officers, while others tried to push through police barriers. Riot police on horses pushed the crowd back. The protesters, who appeared to be mostly white men, chanted “England” and sang the national anthem.

“I am extremely fed up with the way that the authorities have allowed two consecutive weekends of vandalism against our national monuments,” Paul Golding, leader of the far-right group Britain First, told the Press Association.

Scotland Yard said five people were arrested for violent disorder, assault on police and possession of weapons or drugs. Six police officers suffered minor injuries. Monuments around the world have become flash points in demonstrations against racism and police violence after the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis after a white police officer pressed a knee to his neck.

In Britain, the protests have triggered a national debate about the legacy of empire and its role in the slave trade. A statue of slave trader Edward Colston was hauled from its plinth by protesters in the city of Bristol on Sunday and dumped in the harbor. In London, Churchill’s statue was daubed with the words “was a racist.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted Friday that while Churchill “sometimes expressed opinions that were and are unacceptable to us today,” he was a hero and “we cannot now try to edit or censor our past.” Churchill, whose first term spanned 1940-45, has long been revered for his leadership during World War II.

Protests denouncing racism also took place elsewhere in the U.K. In southern England's coastal city Brighton, police said some 10,000 people turned up for a peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstration.

Hui reported from London. Angela Charlton and Boubkar Benzabat in Paris contributed.

Water vapor in the atmosphere may be prime renewable energy source

Tel Aviv, Israel (SPX)
Jun 10, 2020

The search for renewable energy sources, which include wind, solar, hydroelectric dams, geothermal, and biomass, has preoccupied scientists and policymakers alike, due to their enormous potential in the fight against climate change. A new Tel Aviv University study finds that water vapor in the atmosphere may serve as a potential renewable energy source in the future.

The research, led by Prof. Colin Price in collaboration with Prof. Hadas Saaroni and doctoral student Judi Lax, all of TAU's Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, is based on the discovery that electricity materializes in the interaction between water molecules and metal surfaces. It was published in Scientific Reports on May 6, 2020.

"We sought to capitalize on a naturally occurring phenomenon: electricity from water," explains Prof. Price. "Electricity in thunderstorms is generated only by water in its different phases - water vapor, water droplets, and ice. Twenty minutes of cloud development is how we get from water droplets to huge electric discharges - lightning - some half a mile in length."

The researchers set out to try to produce a tiny low-voltage battery that utilizes only humidity in the air, building on the findings of earlier discoveries. In the nineteenth century, for example, English physicist Michael Faraday discovered that water droplets could charge metal surfaces due to friction between the two. A much more recent study showed that certain metals spontaneously build up an electrical charge when exposed to humidity.

The scientists conducted a laboratory experiment to determine the voltage between two different metals exposed to high relative humidity, while one is grounded. "We found that there was no voltage between them when the air was dry," Prof. Price explains.

"But once the relative humidity rose above 60%, a voltage began to develop between the two isolated metal surfaces. When we lowered the humidity level to below 60%, the voltage disappeared. When we carried out the experiment outside in natural conditions, we saw the same results.

"Water is a very special molecule. During molecular collisions, it can transfer an electrical charge from one molecule to the other. Through friction, it can build up a kind of static electricity," says Prof. Price.

"We tried to reproduce electricity in the lab and found that different isolated metal surfaces will build up different amounts of charge from water vapor in the atmosphere, but only if the air relative humidity is above 60%. This occurs nearly every day in the summer in Israel and every day in most tropical countries."

According to Prof. Price, this study challenges established ideas about humidity and its potential as an energy source. "People know that dry air results in static electricity and you sometimes get 'shocks' you when you touch a metal door handle. Water is normally thought of as a good conductor of electricity, not something that can build up charge on a surface. However, it seems that things are different once the relative humidity exceeds a certain threshold," he says.

The researchers, however, showed that humid air may be a source of charging surfaces to voltages of around one volt. "If a AA battery is 1.5V, there may be a practical application in the future: to develop batteries that can be charged from water vapor in the air," Prof. Price adds.

"The results may be particularly important as a renewable source of energy in developing countries, where many communities still do not have access to electricity, but the humidity is constantly about 60%," Prof. Price concludes.

Source: Bio Fuel Daily.
Link: https://www.biofueldaily.com/reports/Water_vapor_in_the_atmosphere_may_be_prime_renewable_energy_source_999.html.