The Daily Populous

Friday July 7th, 2023 morning edition

image for Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon drops 34% in first half 2023

SAO PAULO, July 6 (Reuters) - Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon fell 34% in the first half of 2023, preliminary government data showed on Thursday, hitting its lowest level in four years as President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva institutes tougher environmental policies.

But that's an area more than three times the size of New York City, underscoring the challenge Lula faces to eliminate deforestation entirely.

"It's very positive, but we continue to have very high levels of deforestation," said Daniel Silva, an analyst at nonprofit WWF-Brasil.

Lula took office in January promising to end deforestation by 2030, after surging destruction under his predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, who had slashed environmental protection efforts.

In June alone, Inpe satellite data showed deforestation totaled 663 sq km, down 41% from the same month a year ago.

Whether annual deforestation will show a decline remains unclear, as the annual peak in deforestation and fires from July to September lies ahead.

"July tends to have an explosion in deforestation," said Joao Paulo Capobianco, Silva's deputy at the Environment Ministry. »

U.S. Is Destroying the Last of Its Once-Vast Chemical Weapons Arsenal

Authored by nytimes.com

In went artillery shells filled with deadly mustard agent that the Army had been storing for more than 70 years.

The bright yellow robots pierced, drained and washed each shell, then baked it at 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit.

And when they are gone, all of the world’s publicly declared chemical weapons will have been eliminated. »

An ancient language with nearly a million undeciphered texts just got a translator that does the job in seconds: A.I.

Authored by fortune.com

There are so few people who can read the extinct language that nearly a million Akkadian texts still haven’t been translated to date—but now an A.I. tool can decode them within seconds.

The number of existing cuneiform texts is overwhelming compared to the small number of linguists who are able to translate Akkadian.

But recently, A.I. programs like the cuneiform translator have been able to get at the “fuzzier” areas of language. »

Terrorism in Pakistan Soars 79% in First Half of 2023

Authored by picss.net
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Furthermore, the latter half of 2022 recorded 228 attacks, resulting in 246 fatalities and 349 injuries.

Balochistan reported 75 terror incidents in the first half of 2023, resulting in 100 deaths and 163 injuries.

During the second half of 2022, Pakistan witnessed 10 suicide attacks, resulting in 24 fatalities and 65 injuries. »