Scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences have discovered nearly 1,000 species of bacteria in snow and ice samples collected from Tibetan glaciers, Phys.org reports.
Ice sheets and glaciers cover approximately 10% of the Earth’s surface and also serve as the largest reservoir of fresh water.
Scientists collected snow and ice samples from 21 glaciers in Tibet in 2010-2016, melted them down and tested them to see what was left in the water.
“In doing so, the researchers found 968 unique bacterial species, 98% of which have never been seen before. The results come following a study by another team that recently discovered several viruses in 15,000-year-old ice, most of which have never been seen before. “, the message says.
According to scientists, some of these bacteria and viruses can be infectious for animals and humans, and as snow and ice melt due to climate change, they can get into rivers and streams in populated areas with water.
“And perhaps even more of a problem may be that modern plants and animals, including humans, are not immune to old microbes, which suggests they can be deadly and difficult to treat. Thus, they represent the possibility of local epidemics.” and possibly pandemics.
The researchers note that the bacteria they studied came from a particularly important part of the world – melting snow and ice in Tibet feeds several rivers that lead to densely populated areas in China and India.
In this regard, experts propose to immediately begin work on the study of microbes that can spread from glaciers around the world.
The Cabinet of Ministers intends to limit payments to members of supervisory councils and management of state-owned companies and state-owned banks to 15 minimum wages (MW) for the period of martial law, based on the size of the minimum wage set as of January 1, 2022 (15 MMW is equivalent to UAH 97.5 thousand), said the deputy head of the parliamentary committee on finance, tax and customs policy, Yaroslav Zheleznyak.
“The Cabinet of Ministers wants to limit payments to members of supervisory boards during the war. The corresponding draft decision was sent yesterday from the Ministry of Economy to the Cabinet of Ministers. It also concerns the management of state-owned companies,” Zheleznyak wrote on his Telegram channel on Tuesday.
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a draft agreement with the World Food Program (WFP) on the renewal of the agreement on opening a WFP Office in Ukraine.
As the representative of the Cabinet of Ministers in the Verkhovna Rada Taras Melnichuk said in the Telegram channel, the corresponding decision was made at a government meeting on Tuesday.
In particular, the project provides for: resumption of WFP representation in Ukraine; prompt response in case of emergencies, including in the field of distribution of financial assistance and assistance in kind for the affected regions; promotion of cooperation in the context of the participation of Ukrainian companies in the purchase of agricultural and food products for the needs of international humanitarian projects of the UN World Food Program.
The European Union is starting to supply more than 90 off-road trucks to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the EU Delegation to Ukraine has reported.
“The logistics equipment is part of a wider €31 million assistance measure adopted on December 2 in support of Ukraine. The EU has begun supplying the Armed Forces with more than 90 off-road trucks as part of the European Peace Fund. The trucks are provided to support the medical, engineering and logistics units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine “, – said in a press release on the website of the representative office on Tuesday.
It is emphasized that this assistance measure will increase the overall resilience of Ukraine and help strengthen the capacity of its Armed Forces. In particular, we are talking about the provision of medical equipment, including a field hospital, engineering equipment, including demining tools, items for logistics units, including trucks and other means, and equipment to increase cyber defense capabilities.
This summer, the State Agency for Highways of Ukraine (Ukravtodor) does not introduce seasonal restrictions for trucks with a total weight of up to 40 tons during the daytime at elevated air temperatures.
According to the agency on its Facebook page on Tuesday, this decision was made primarily due to the war in the country, the reorientation of exports to the road network and significant changes in logistics.
“Before the full-scale invasion of Russia, Ukraine exported mainly by sea. Now, due to the blocking of ports, the country has redirected the flow of goods to rail and road. We understand the importance of logistics today, therefore, in order to avoid interruptions in the transportation of vital goods, seasonal restrictions are not introduced this year” , the ministry said in a statement.
At the same time, Ukravtodor reminds drivers and carriers that the movement of trucks must be carried out in compliance with weight parameters both in terms of total mass and axle load at any time of the day. According to the norms, the maximum weight of a cargo vehicle for transportation on the roads of the country is 40 tons.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has held a meeting in the President’s Office of Ukraine with American actor and film director Sean Penn, who is making a documentary about the Russian war in Ukraine.
“Actor and film director Sean Penn is making a documentary about the war in Ukraine. From the first day of the full-scale invasion, he was in Kyiv and saw what Russian aggression was. Soon, the whole world will be able to see the whole truth about the war thanks to his film,” Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel.
The Head of State also thanked the actor for the support of Ukraine and Ukrainians.
