Science News-Dermatologists Can Learn New Tricks From Old Dogs

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Medical News Dermatologists Can Learn New Tricks From Old Dogs As researchers learn more about how certain treatments benefit pets, they’re gathering valuable knowledge that could benefit human patients. – American Academy of Dermatology 2017 AAD Summer Meeting Embargo expired on 27-Jul-2017 at 07:00 ET Accurate Diagnosis Should Be First Step in Treating Nail Fungus Patients who suspect they have a nail fungal infection should see a board-certified dermatologist, who can evaluate their condition and recommend an appropriate treatment. – American Academy of Dermatology 2017 AAD Summer Meeting Embargo expired on 27-Jul-2017 at 07:00 ET Is It Alzheimer’s Disease or Another Dementia? A new method may help determine whether a person has Alzheimer’s disease or frontotemporal dementia, two different types of dementia that often have similar symptoms, according to a preliminary study published in the July 26, 2017, online issue of ... – American Academy of Neurology (AAN) Neurology Embargo expired on 26-Jul-2017 at 16:00 ET Robot-Driven Device Improves Crouch Gait in Children with Cerebral Palsy 3.6 out of 1000 children in the U.S. are diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Their symptoms can include abnormal gait patterns such as crouch gait, characterized by excessive flexion of the hips, knees, or ankles. A pilot study led by Columbia Engineering... – Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science Science Robotics July 26 2017 Embargo expired on 26-Jul-2017 at 14:00 ET includes video Unit History of Suicide Attempt Increases Suicide Risk for Troops Does a previous suicide attempt in a soldier’s unit increase the risk of additional suicide attempts? According to a study, “Risk of Suicide Attempt Associated with Previous Attempts in One’s Army Unit,” published July 26, 2017 in JAMA Psych... – Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) JAMA Psychiatry, July 26, 2017 Embargo expired on 26-Jul-2017 at 11:00 ET Americans are Quitting Smoking in Higher Numbers; Study Suggests E-cigarettes Help University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center researchers performed a population-level analysis of national surveys conducted from 2001 to 2015 and found that in the United States the smoking cessation rate increased ... – University of California San Diego Health BMJ 2017;358:j3262 ; U01CA154280 Embargo expired on 26-Jul-2017 at 18:30 ET Brain Cells Found to Control Aging Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have found that stem cells in the brain’s hypothalamus govern how fast aging occurs in the body. The finding, made in mice, could lead to new strategies for warding off age-related diseases and exte... – Albert Einstein College of Medicine Nature; DK078750; AG031774; HL113180; DK099136 Embargo expired on 26-Jul-2017 at 13:00 ET Researchers Unlock Regenerative Potential of Cells in the Mouse Retina Cells within an injured mouse eye can be coaxed into regenerating neurons and those new neurons appear to integrate themselves into the eye’s circuitry, new research shows. The findings potentially open the door to new treatments for eye trauma and... – NIH, National Eye Institute (NEI) Nature DOI: 10.1038/nature23283; R01EY021482, R01EY14358, and P30EY01730 Embargo expired on 26-Jul-2017 at 13:00 ET A Rogue Gene Is Causing Seizures in Babies. Here’s How MSU Wants to Stop It Two rare diseases caused by a malfunctioning gene that triggers seizures or involuntary movements in children as early as a few days old have left scientists searching for answers and better treatment options. – Michigan State University Neurology Embargo expired on 26-Jul-2017 at 16:00 ET Researchers Prove Human Heart's 'Battery' Has Multiple Backups Scientists at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center have shown the human heart's sinoatrial node, the natural pacemaker, is hardwired with a backup system. This built-in redundancy maintains consistent heart rhythm, even under trying condit... – Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Science Translational Medicine, July 2017 Embargo expired on 26-Jul-2017 at 14:00 ET To Detect Skin Cancer Early, Be Alert for Any Suspicious Spots Although melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer, it’s not the only form of skin cancer that can be deadly. Squamous cell carcinoma, a type of nonmelanoma skin cancer, is not only potentially fatal, but also more common than melanoma. – American Academy of Dermatology 2017 AAD Summer Meeting Embargo expired on 27-Jul-2017 at 07:00 ET Atopic Dermatitis Affects All Ages Although eczema is commonly diagnosed in children, it also occurs in adults, and treatment can help patients of any age. – American Academy of Dermatology 2017 AAD Summer Meeting Embargo expired on 27-Jul-2017 at 07:00 ET Choose a Qualified Health Care Provider for Dermatologic Procedures Board-certified physicians can help patients achieve the best possible outcome while taking steps to ensure their health and safety. – American Academy of Dermatology 2017 AAD Summer Meeting Embargo expired on 27-Jul-2017 at 07:00 ET Preterm Birth and Low Birth Weight Linked to Air Pollution Exposure Early in Pregnancy, Study Finds The study, conducted in mice, found that exposure to air pollution during the equivalent of the first or second trimester in humans was linked to more negative birth outcomes than exposure later in pregnancy. – NYU Langone Health Environmental Health Perspectives; 21-F12-13 ; ES000260 Seeing More with PET Scans: Scientists Discover New Way to Label Chemical Compounds for Medical Imaging Researchers have found a surprisingly versatile workaround to create chemical compounds that could prove useful for medical imaging and drug development. – Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Science Winning Star Trek Tricorder Device to Be Presented to Experts at the 69th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting Press can register here to livestream this special session through Newswise Live on Monday, July 31 at 7:30 PM EDT. The winner of the Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE competition will present DxtER—a real-life tricorder—at the 69th AACC Annual Scientifi... – 69th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting Press Program 69th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting, Jul-Aug 2017; Live Stream of Expert Panel - Press Register Here to Attend; All Meeting News on Newswise Stem Cell Therapy Attacks Cancer by Targeting Unique Tissue Stiffness A stem cell-based method created by University of California, Irvine scientists can selectively target and kill cancerous tissue while preventing some of the toxic side effects of chemotherapy by treating the disease in a more localized way. – University of California, Irvine Science Translational Medicine, July 26, 2017 New Study Recommends Alternative Pain Relief for Knee Replacement Patients A new study led by researchers at University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust and the University of Warwick has recommended an alternative method of pain relief for patients undergoing knee replacement surgery. – University of Warwick Opting for Weight-Loss Surgery at Lower BMIs May Be Best for Patients’ Health, Study Suggests The struggle to escape obesity is pointing more Americans toward bariatric surgery. But a new study shows that only one in three patients who have an operation succeed in getting their body-mass index below 30, the cutoff for obesity, in the first ye... – Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan JAMA Surg. Published online July 26, 2017. doi:10.1001/jamasurg.2017.2348 Equality Isn’t Cutting It: New Campaign From American Heart Association and American Academy of Pediatrics Works for Health Equity, Too Join our virtual press briefing on August 10 at 11 am ET to hear from these organizations about new research, stories of successful programs in communities, and experts who can speak to the need to ensure all children have access to nutritious food a... – Newswise Live virtual press briefing - register here to attend Keep an Eye on Safety During Upcoming Solar Eclipse Vanderbilt Eye Institute experts say proper protective eyewear is crucial for viewing the upcoming total solar eclipse on Aug. 21. – Vanderbilt University Medical Center Hackensack Meridian Health Hospitals Honored for Outstanding Treatment for Heart Attack Patients Hospitals which earn the award must meet specific criteria and standards of performance for the quick and appropriate treatment of patients suffering severe heart attacks to re-establish blood flow to blocked arteries. – Hackensack Meridian Health Joseph Caravalho Jr., MD, Selected as New Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine President, CEO Army Major General (Dr.) Joseph Caravalho, Jr., a 1983 graduate of the F. Edward Hebert School of Medicine ("America's Medical School"), Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), was selected as the next president and chief executiv... – Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) In Assessing Risk of Hormone Therapy for Menopause, Dose — Not Form — Matters UCLA-led research finds that the way estrogen therapy for menopause is delivered doesn’t affect risk or benefit. What DOES make a difference with the commonly used conjugated equine estrogen, plus progestogen, is dosage. – University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Health Sciences Menopause includes video Seattle Children's Opens CD22 CAR T-Cell Immunotherapy Trial for Children and Young Adults Whose Leukemia Escapes CD19 CAR T-Cell Therapy After seeing promising results in phase 1 of the Pediatric Leukemia Adoptive Therapy (PLAT-02) trial with 93 percent of patients with relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) achieving complete initial remission, researchers at Seatt... – Seattle Children's Hospital Touching Lives Through Telehealth for Ostomy Patients One UAB School of Nursing faculty member is impacting outcomes for ostomy patients with online postoperative visits. – University of Alabama at Birmingham Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute Teams Converge on Strategies to Defeat McCain’s Form of Brain Cancer Research teams at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute from three colleges — Engineering, Science, and Veterinary Medicine — are developing new approaches to treat glioblastoma, the aggressive form of brain cancer diagnosed in U.S. Sen. ... – Virginia Tech Kansas State University Team Receives Nearly $11 Million COBRE Grant to Establish Neuroscience Research Center The National Institutes of Health is awarding a Kansas State University-led team of psychological sciences researchers with a prestigious five-year, $10.6 million Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence, or COBRE, grant. – Kansas State University National Institutes of Health's National Institute of General Medical Sciences Penn Center for Precision Medicine Awards $565,000 in Second Accelerator Grants The Penn Center for Precision Medicine (PCPM) Accelerator Fund awarded eight research teams from Penn Medicine in their second round of funding for the implementation of personalized medicine projects across a range of clinical specialties. – Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania NYITCOM’s Martin Gerdes Honored for Contributions to Heart Disease Research at 22nd World Congress on Heart Disease Martin Gerdes, Ph.D., chair of the Biomedical Sciences department at New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM), has received the prestigious Hans Peter Krayenbuehl Memorial Award from the International Academy of Card... – New York Institute of Technology Chemoradiation Researcher, Retired Brigadier General Receives 2017 ASTRO Honorary Membership Edith Peterson Mitchell, MD, a leading researcher, medical oncologist and proponent of combined modality treatment, has been chosen as the 2017 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Honorary Member. – American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) UofL Hosts International Conference on Using the Internet to Improve Hearing Health Audiologists, specialists in hearing disorders, from around the world will meet in Louisville to discuss benefits and pitfalls of using the internet for research and hearing health care (telehealth) for individuals with hearing impairment. – University of Louisville 1R13DC016547-01 Caplugs Evergreen 95-Pin Inoculator Assembly and Inoculum Tray at AACC 2017 Caplugs Evergreen offers a 95-pin single use inoculator assembly to easily transfer samples to a 96-well microplate. – American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) 69th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting Data Innovations® Announces the Launch of Instrument Manager™ v8.15 Data Innovations (DI) today announces the launch of version 8.15 of Instrument Manager (IM), the latest version of the leading middleware product. This version provides technology enhancements to our Hot Backup solution and introduces an additional ... – 69th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting Press Program 69th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting Penn Medicine Neurosurgeon Named Alpha Omega Alpha Fellow in Leadership Timothy H. Lucas, II, MD, PhD, an assistant professor of Neurosurgery and director of the Translational Neuromodulation Lab in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has been awarded the 2017 Fellow in Leadership Award by ... – Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Diasorin Launches Its New Simplexa C. Difficile Direct Molecular Test in the US Market DiaSorin (FTSE Italia Mid Cap: DIA) announced today that they have received clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration to market the Simplexa C. difficile Direct Assay for the detection of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile). – 69th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting Press Program 69th AACC Annual Scientific Meeting Ortho Clinical Diagnostics to Present 10 Scientific Posters, Seven Products at AACC News provided by Ortho Clinical Diagnostics – American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) Carl Bergetz, JD, Named Chief Legal Officer of the Rush System Carl Bergetz, JD, has been appointed chief legal officer of Rush, an academic health system that includes three hospitals and multiple outpatient locations in the greater Chicago area. With this appointment, Bergetz also assumes the roles as senior v... – Rush University Medical Center Erik Barton, MD, MS, MBA, Appointed System Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Mount Sinai Erik Barton, MD, MS, MBA, has been appointed System Chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. His new role will begin on August 1, 2017. – Mount Sinai Health System Science News Milky Way's Origins Are Not What They Seem In a first-of-its-kind analysis, Northwestern University astrophysicists have discovered that up to half of the matter in our Milky Way galaxy may come from distant galaxies. As a result, each one of us may be made in part from extragalactic matter. ... – Northwestern University Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, July 27, 2017 Embargo expired on 26-Jul-2017 at 21:00 ET includes video Atomic Movies May Help Explain Why Perovskite Solar Cells Are More Efficient Experiments with a powerful “electron camera” at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have discovered that light whirls atoms around in perovskites, potentially explaining the high efficiency of these next-generation ... – SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory Science Advances Embargo expired on 26-Jul-2017 at 14:00 ET Strange Electrons Break the Crystal Symmetry of High-Temperature Superconductors Scientists have found surprising electron behavior that may help unravel the ever-elusive mechanism behind high-temperature superconductivity—a phenomenon in which electrical current flows freely without resistance through a material at unusually h... – Brookhaven National Laboratory Nature, July 27 Embargo expired on 26-Jul-2017 at 13:00 ET Adjusting Fertilizers Vital in Claypan Soils New research could help claypan farmers improve yields while saving costs. – American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) Agronomy Journal, June 22, 2017 Embargo expired on 26-Jul-2017 at 10:00 ET Predicting and Preventing Power Outages Using Big Data Texas A&M University researchers have developed an intelligent model that can predict a potential vulnerability to utility assets and present a map of where and when a possible outage may occur. – Texas A&M University IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, Nov-2016 includes video Like to Lie in the Hammock? That – and Other Variables -- Will Trigger How You Fertilize, Irrigate Urban residents value their lawns through their own prisms, and those values lead to a range of efficiency in how they irrigate and fertilize, a new University of Florida study shows. – University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Living Computers: RNA Circuits Transform Cells Into Nanodevices In new research, Alex Green, a professor at ASU’s Biodesign Institute, demonstrates how living cells can be induced to carry out computations in the manner of tiny robots or computers. – Arizona State University (ASU) Nature No Longer Lost in Translation Mouse models have advanced our understanding of immune function and disease in many ways but they have failed to account for the natural diversity in human immune responses. As a result, insights gained in the lab may be lost in translation. In their... – La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology Nature Communications (2017) ; National Institutes of Health; Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft NUS Scientists Identify Optimal Areas for Conservation and Agriculture in the Tropics A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has recently completed a global study on the trade-offs between the benefits provided by tropical forests and its conversion for agricultural use. The team examined deforestation a... – National University of Singapore Plos Biology BRI Reports Status of Common Loon Translocation Study Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) announces that translocation of loon chicks from Maine to Massachusetts is being carried out this week. During the fifth breeding season of its Restore the Call project, BRI presents a progress report of the larg... – Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) Long Baseline Neutrino Facility Breaks Ground On July 21, one mile beneath Lead, South Dakota, construction began on the first international mega-science experiment ever hosted on U.S. soil. Excavation crews will be digging out four massive caverns as part of the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility ... – Brookhaven National Laboratory includes video Neutrons Peer Into a Running Engine Oak Ridge national Laboratory researchers and industry partners used neutrons to investigate the performance of a new aluminum alloy in a gasoline-powered engine -- while the engine was running. – Oak Ridge National Laboratory includes video Clothbound Cheddar Conceived at Cornell, Finished in NYC Caves In 2014, Murray’s Cheese in New York City had an idea for a clothbound cheddar modeled on classic British versions. And this year, after two years of development, the company has launched Murray’s Cavemaster Reserve Ezra – a bright, lemony flav... – Cornell University includes video Vanderbilt Astronomers Help NROTC Midshipmen Learn Celestial Navigation A team of Vanderbilt astronomers have developed an online course that NROTC is using to reintroduce training in celestial navigation. – Vanderbilt University Air Force Fellows Aim High at Argonne Science, technology and national security come together in a personal and powerful way through the U.S. Air Force Fellows program at Argonne National Laboratory, which on July 10 will become a second home to Lt. Col. Chris Snyder and Maj. Sean “Ske... – Argonne National Laboratory Astronomers Discuss Do’s and Don’ts for Viewing Aug. 21 ‘Great American Eclipse’ On Aug. 21, a total solar eclipse will cut across the U.S. in a diagonal track running from Oregon southeast to South Carolina. Two University of Kansas professors of physics & astronomy have offered guidance to best view the once-in-a-lifetime astro... – University of Kansas FAU and U.S. Southern Command Team Up for Science, Technology and Education Initiatives SOUTHCOM, located in Miami, Fla. and responsible for military operations within South and Central America as well as the Caribbean, will work with FAU to pursue mutual objectives in humanitarian assistance and disaster response, international develop... – Florida Atlantic University Information Scientist Herbert Van de Sompelto Receive Paul Evan Peters Award Herbert Van de Sompel, research scientist at the Research Library of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, has been named the 2017 recipient of the Paul Evan Peters Award from the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI), the Association of Research L... – Los Alamos National Laboratory Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Names New Director of Lighting Research Center Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has named Professor Mariana G. Figueiro, Ph.D., as director of the Lighting Research Center (LRC), after serving as the center’s acting director over the past year. – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) DHS S&T Selects Cyber Apex Solutions for Applied Cybersecurity Research DHS S&T awarded a five-year Other Transaction Agreement (OTA), with a maximum value of $70 million, to Arlington, Virginia-based Cyber Apex Solutions, LLC, to facilitate applied research of prototype cyber-defenses for critical national infrastructur... – Homeland Security's Science & Technology Directorate ORNL’s Qualls Tapped for Key New Reactor Development Position The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy has selected Lou Qualls as the national technical director for molten salt reactors (MSRs). In his new role, Qualls—a nuclear engineer who joined DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1988—... – Oak Ridge National Laboratory Arkansas Professor Receives $500k to Improve Transportation Fuel Cells A University of Arkansas at Little Rock professor has received $500,000 to develop high-performance, cost-effective transportation fuel cells. Dr. Tansel Karabacak, professor of physics and astronomy at UA Little Rock, received $400,000 from the U.S.... – University of Arkansas at Little Rock DHS S&T Awards $200k to StackRox for Defense Against Cyber Threats DHS S&T has awarded StackRox, Inc. of Mountain View, California, a $200,000 contract to harden the cyber defenses of financial institutions. – Homeland Security's Science & Technology Directorate DHS S&T Assesses Mitigation Tactics Against Jamming Nearly 100 federal, state, and local public safety and private organizations gathered last week to test tactics and technologies to identify, locate and mitigate illegal jamming of communications systems, such as GPS, radio and wireless systems. – Homeland Security's Science & Technology Directorate Lifestyle & Social Sciences Women and Men Report Similar Levels of Work-Family Conflicts

ENERGY NEWS-Venezuela sanctions could bring higher gas prices to U.S.

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Optimism on market rebalancing drags oil prices lower

Renewed optimism about the rebalancing of the crude oil market brought concerns about excitability and dragged the price for oil lower early Thursday.

Maasai women bring clean energy to rural villages in Kenya, Tanzania

July 27 (UPI) -- Solar power and clean-burning stoves are saving lives and changing fortunes in the Maasai lands between Kenya and Tanzania.

Nigerian media reports halt to some crude oil production

July 27 (UPI) -- Nigerian media reported Thursday the federal government opted to halt crude oil exploration in part of the Niger Delta because of heightened security concerns.

Iran sees imminent non-Western win for energy

July 27 (UPI) -- The Iranian government said it scored a win in the energy sector, this time by developing a pipeline that will offset supply disruptions from its neighbors.

Norway's Statoil posts production, earnings gains

July 27 (UPI) -- Norwegian energy company Statoil said Thursday improved market conditions led to a 231 percent increase in adjusted earnings for the second quarter.

Shale-rich Oklahoma to host mega-wind farm

July 27 (UPI) -- Once operational, the Wind Catcher wind farm in Oklahoma will be the second largest in the world and largest in the United States, the companies involved said.

Shell posts strong recovery, after a dismal 2016

July 27 (UPI) -- Royal Dutch Shell said Thursday its profits for the second quarter were three times higher than last year, but stressed market conditions warranted discipline.

Venezuela sanctions could bring higher gas prices to U.S.

July 27 (UPI) -- Tightening sanctions on Venezuela could result on blowback in the U.S. economy by way of higher oil and gasoline prices, sector analysts said.

11 Smart Home Devices You Didn’t Know Existed

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11 Smart Home Devices You Didn’t Know Existed From a smart frying pan that weighs your food to a hair brush that coaches your brushing, if there’s even a minor need, there’s probably a smart device to address it. READ NOW   READ THESE NEXT Protect Your Home With a Smart Security System How to See What Your Pets Are Up to While You’re Not Home Start Turning Off Your Network When You’re Not Using It Where Should You Get Your Computer Fixed?

South Korea to downgrade bird flu alert from highest level

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SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea will on Friday downgrade its bird flu alert by one notch from the highest level, the government said.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural affairs on Thursday said in a statement that the risk from highly pathogenic bird flu had dropped, with no new cases reported since June 19.

South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy, was hit hard by the deadly H5N8 bird flu strain after the first case was confirmed in November, leading to a record culling of over 37 million farm birds, or more than a fifth of its total poultry population.

The ministry said it would keep disinfecting farms and monitoring the situation until September.

(This version of the story was refiled to correct typo in headline)

Reporting by Jane Chung; Editing by Joseph Radford

Ukraine strips citizenship of ex-Georgia leader Saakashvili

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MINSK, Belarus (AP) — Ukraine's president has rescinded the citizenship of Mikheil Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia who moved to Ukraine to become leader of one of its most corruption-plagued regions and later resigned.

(1 of 3) Former Georgian president and former governor of the Ukrainian Odessa region Mikhail Saakashvili surrounded by his supporters at a rally near the Justice Ministry in Kiev, Ukraine. Ukraine's president has rescinded the citizenship of Mikheil Saakashvili, who moved to Ukraine to become leader of one of its most corruption-plagued regions and later resigned.

July 26, 2017

Ukraine's migration service announced the move by President Petro Poroshenko on Wednesday, saying it came after Ukraine received unspecified documents from Georgia. Saakashvili was stripped of his Georgian citizenship in 2015 after being appointed as governor of Ukraine's Odessa region, but the country seeks his extradition to face charges connected with the violent dispersal of protests during his presidency and a raid on a private television station.

Saakashvili, a reformist who came to power after the 2003 Rose Revolution protests, was appointed Odessa governor by Poroshenko, but resigned last year, complaining of official obstruction of anti-corruption efforts.

US slaps Venezuela with new sanctions

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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The latest on Venezuela, where a two-day national strike has been called beginning Wednesday to protest President Nicolas Maduro's plans to rewrite the country's constitution (all times local):

(1 of 3) A sign with a message that reads in Spanish: "No more dictatorship" is attached to a rope formig part of a barricade made by demonstrators during a 48-hour general strike beginning Wednesday in protest of government plans to rewrite the constitution in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, July 26, 2017. Streets were quiet Wednesday morning in much of the capital, Caracas, as many residents stayed home in observance of the strike.

July 26, 2017

1:50 p.m. The Trump administration has hit Venezuela with new sanctions targeting 13 current or former top officials in President Nicolas Maduro's government. It is also threatening more penalties if he goes through with a controversial plan to rewrite the beleaguered country's constitution, with an election scheduled Sunday to elect delegates to a special assembly charged with drafting a new charter.

The sanctions target senior Venezuelan officials that the U.S. says are promoting that vote or undermining democracy, along with five others implicated in violence or repression amid the country's political crisis.

They freeze any assets the individuals have in the United States and bar Americans from doing business with them. Among those hit by the sanctions announced Wednesday are Tibisay Lucena Ramirez, the president of the National Electoral Council and president of Venezuela's National Board of Elections; Elias Jose Jaua Milano, Minister of Education and head of the Presidential Commission for the National Constituent Assembly; Tarek William Saab Halabi, the president of Venezuela's Republican Moral Council; and Maria Iris Varela Rangel, a Member of Venezuela's Presidential Commission for the Constituent Assembly.

1:30 p.m.

Colombia's flagship airline is suspending all flights to neighboring Venezuela, citing security concerns.

Avianca announced Wednesday it is halting service to the struggling South American nation because of changes needed to improve airport infrastructure and ensure international standards are met.

The airline operates two direct flights to Venezuela: One from Bogota, Colombia, and the other from Lima, Peru.

Avianca Executive President Hernan Rincon says he laments the decision, "but our obligation is to guarantee the safety of the operation."

A growing list of air carriers has suspended service to Venezuela as the country sinks further into economic and political ruin.

June saw the last United Airlines departure out of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.

1:20 p.m.

The United States and 12 other regional nations are urging Venezuela's president to suspend the election of a national assembly to rewrite the country's constitution amid political unrest.

The 13 nations presented a statement at an Organization of American States meeting Wednesday calling the constitutional process being pushed by Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro a "definitive dismantling" of democratic institutions.

The statement expresses concern over what it says is a "serious alteration of the democratic order, the worsening of the crisis and the increase of violence" in Venezuela.

The statement was issued by the governments of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and the United States.

12:05 p.m.

U.S. officials say the Trump administration is poised to hit Venezuela with new sanctions amid widespread unrest ahead of weekend elections that would lead to a rewrite of the country's constitution.

The officials said the sanctions to be announced by the White House later Wednesday would target senior current and former government and military officials as well as some linked to Venezuela's state oil company.

The officials were not authorized to discuss the sanctions publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The sanctions will include asset freezes and travel bans.

In a tweet, Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said 13 people would be affected by the sanctions. Rubio has been a strong proponent of sanctions against President Nicolas Maduro's increasingly authoritarian government and its crackdown on the opposition.

__ Contributed by Matthew Lee in Washington.

11:35 a.m.

The European Union's foreign policy chief is calling on Venezuelan authorities to de-escalate tensions ahead of Sunday's election of a constituent assembly tasked with overhauling the embattled nation's charter.

Federica Mogherini issued a statement Wednesday warning that the election "risks further polarizing the country and heightening the risk of confrontation."

Three days of protests are planned leading up to Sunday's vote, starting with a 48-hour general strike that began Wednesday and culminating Friday with a demonstration billed as a "takeover of Caracas."

Mogherini says the EU "encourages and stands ready to support in every way possible the creation of a regional 'group of friends,' accepted by the government and the opposition, to help the endeavors of political actors in Venezuela to find a peaceful, democratic and inclusive solution to the crisis in the country."

10:10 a.m.

Cuba says it has no intention of trying to help mediate a solution to the political crisis rocking Venezuela. Instead it's voicing full support for the embattled government of President Nicolas Maduro, a key ideological and economic ally.

Speculation that Havana could play a role in potential international mediation had been sparked by a recent visit to the island by President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia.

Cuban Communist Party Second Secretary Jose Ramon Machado Ventura says "Cuba roundly rejects such insinuations and demands absolute respect for the sovereignty and self-determination" of Venezuela.

In his words: "Those who from the outside try to give lessons on democracy and human rights while encouraging coup-mongering violence and terrorism should take their hands off that nation."

Machado Ventura adds that it is up to the Venezuelan people and Maduro's government to overcome their challenges "without foreign meddling in their internal affairs."

He spoke Wednesday at a ceremony marking the anniversary of a failed barracks uprising that is considered the beginning of Fidel Castro's revolution.

Venezuelan opposition leaders have called a two-day general strike beginning Wednesday to protest Maduro's plans to rewrite the country's constitution.

8:15 a.m.

Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez has released his first direct message since his release on house arrest this month, calling on Venezuelans to support a 48-hour general strike against government plans to rewrite the constitution and appealing to the army not to crack down on protests.

In a 15-minute video recorded in his home and released overnight Wednesday, Lopez says President Nicolas Maduro's administration is seeking to annihilate democracy. He calls on Venezuelans "to stop this with peaceful resistance and deep commitment to our efforts."

He calls on the Venezuelan army not to deploy Sunday to protect the vote.

"We're on the brink of their trying to annihilate the republic that you swore to defend," he says. "I ask you not to be accomplices in the annihilation of the republic."

Sinking Island Seeks Seat in Security Council

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An aerial view of the Village of Kolhuvaariyaafushi, Mulaaku Atoll, the Maldives, after the Indian Ocean Tsunami. Credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider

UNITED NATIONS, Jul 26 2017 (IPS) - The Maldives, one of the world’s low-lying, small island developing states (SIDS) — threatened with extinction because of a sea-level rise– is shoring up its coastal defences in anticipation of the impending calamity.

And it is seeking international support for its very survival.—at a time when most Western nations are either cutting down on development aid or diverting funds to boost domestic security.

“The danger of sea level rise is very real and threatens not just the Maldives and other low-lying nations, but also major coastal cities like New York and Miami,” Ambassador Ahmed Sareer, the outgoing Permanent Representative of the Maldives, told IPS.

Sareer, who held the chairmanship of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) for over two years, said that even though projections vary, scientists anticipate at least three feet of sea level rise by the end of the century.

“This would be problematic for the Maldives, SIDS and many other coastal regions. We are currently building coastal defences to mitigate the danger, but need more support,” said Sareer, currently Foreign Secretary of the Maldives.

Along with Maldives, there are several low lying UN member states who are in danger of disappearing from the face of the earth, including the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Palau and Micronesia.

Asked if the United Nations and the international community were doing enough to help alleviate low-lying small island states, Sareer told IPS: “There has been a heightened focus on the risks SIDS face in recent years, not just from climate change but economic challenges as well. We are grateful for the progress, of course, but it is fair to say we still have much further to go.”

Beginning July 31, the Columbia Broadcast System (CBS), one of the major US television networks, is planning to do a series of stories on “Sinking Islands” threatened by rising sea levels triggered by climate change.

Described as “one of the world’s most geographically dispersed countries” and comprising more than a thousand coral islands scattered across the Indian Ocean, the Maldives has a population of over 390,000 people compared to India, one of its neighbours, with a hefty population of over 1.2 billion.

The island nation was devastated by the December 2004 tsunami, and according to one report, 57 islands faced serious damage to critical infrastructure, 14 had to be totally evacuated, and six islands were destroyed. A further twenty-one resort islands were forced to close because of tsunami damage estimated at over $400 million.

As part of its defences, the Maldives has been erecting a wall around the capital of Malé to thwart a rising sea and a future tsumani.

Meanwhile, in a dramatic publicity gimmick back in October 2009, former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed held an underwater cabinet meeting, with ministers in scuba diving gear, to highlight the threat of global warming.

And earlier, at a Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting in Kuala Lumpur in October 1989, then Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom told delegates that if his country is to host the annual meeting in the foreseeable future, the meeting may have to be held underwater in a gradually disappearing island nation.

The World Bank has warned that with “future sea levels projected to increase in the range of 10 to 100 centimeters by the year 2100, the entire country could be submerged”.

But still, the Maldives which graduated from the status of a least developed country (LDC) to that of a developing nation in 2011, is very much alive – and currently campaigning for a two-year non-permanent seat in the most powerful body at the United Nations: the 15-member Security Council.

This is the first time in its 51 years of UN Membership that the Maldives has presented its candidacy for a seat in the UN Security Council (UNSC).

Over the past 25 years, only six SIDS have served on the Council, out of the 125 elected members during that period. SIDS constitutes 20% of the UN Membership.

Since January 2015, the Maldives has chaired the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), a group it helped form in 1990, leading a coalition of 39 member states, of which 37 are UN Members, through landmark agreements on sustainable development, climate change, disaster risk reduction, financing for development, sustainable urbanization, and the follow-up to the SAMOA Pathway- the sustainable development programme of action for SIDS.

In a long-planned effort, the Maldives put forward its candidature on 30 January 2008: ten years before the election, which will take place next year in the 193-member UN General Assembly which will vote for new, rotating non-permanent members of the UNSC.

Sareer said the Maldives seeks to bring a fresh and unique perspective to old challenges.”

And the Maldives believes that non-traditional security threats are as important if not more, than traditional security threats, in today’s world. The Maldives also believes in multi-dimensional approaches to solving issues.

Despite its size, he said, the Maldives has always punched above its weight on the international stage. And it has been a staunch advocate for climate change, and a champion of small States.

Sri Lanka’s former Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Palitha Kohona told IPS Maldives has a commendable mission to realise – to push for action on climate change through the Security Council.

This, though a laudable aspiration, will be an uphill battle given that a powerful Permanent Member of the UNSC (the United States) is a declared opponent of the majority global view on climate change, having recently pulled out of the Paris Accord. It will also run in to opposition from the fossil fuel lobby.

However, if elected to the UNSC, Maldives is likely to enjoy the sympathy of the vast majority of the membership of the UN, including those who initiated a movement to seek an advisory opinion in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on responsibility for global warming and climate change in 2012, said Kohona, who co-chaired the UN Working Group on Biological Diversity Beyond National Jurisdiction and is a former Chief of the UN Treaty Section.

“It will need to deploy considerable resources to secure a seat and then to realise its goal
because Security Council elections, unfortunately, have become a competition among aspirants to see who can spend most on entertaining, junkets and obligatory visits to capitals. These ‘poojas’ become bigger and bigger by the year,” said Kohona.

He said Maldives will be a trend setter for small island developing states, which also must be able to play a role in the UNSC. “They have concerns of global import. It is unsatisfactory in every sense for the UNSC to increasingly become a preserve of big and the powerful.”

He also pointed out that Maldives is well placed and eminently qualified to raise awareness on climate change, global warming and sea level rise. These are threats to the very existence of humanity and could very well morph in to threats to global peace and security.

Already the flood of refugees is having a destabilizing effect on Europe. Refugee flows, which could be massive, resulting from climate change would pose a greater threat to global peace and stability requiring UNSC action. Such action could be taken preemptively rather than after the catastrophe has occurred, he noted.

“Seeing our loyal friend and neighbour seeking a non permanent Security Council seat should also encourage Sri Lanka to do the same in the not-too-distant future,” he added.

Asked whether the 2016 Paris Climate Change Agreement reflected the fears expressed by SIDS on sea level rise, Sareer said sea level rise is just one of the many impacts of climate change, which are of significance to SIDS.

“The Paris Agreement’s main objective is to enhance climate actions, and hence doesn’t directly address sea level rise. However it did include a strong temperature goal and a stand-alone article on loss and damage, which indirectly address these concerns. What is important now is for countries to make deep cuts in their emissions immediately.”

Asked whether the Maldives expects funding from the multi-billion dollar Green Climate Fund (GCF), he said: “We do. The GCF is a primary multilateral vehicle to deliver climate financing to developing countries and therefore ramping up support for the GCF will be critical for all vulnerable countries.”

However, other funds under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are also crucial for transforming climate action in SIDS and also in developing countries.

He said changing rainfall patterns and increasing salinization caused by rising sea levels have led to challenges in securing reliable supplies of drinking water in many Small Island Developing States.

In this context, the Maldives submitted one of the first projects approved through the GCF which will see almost a third of the population of the Maldives becoming freshwater self-sufficient over the next five years.

China Seeks to Export Its Green Finance Model to the World

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Ma Jun, chief economist at the People’s Bank of China, together with Rubén Mercado, from the United Nations’ Development Programme (UNDP) in Argentina. The high-ranking Chinese official promoted Beijing’s green finance while in Buenos Aires. Credit: UNDP

BUENOS AIRES, Jul 26 2017 (IPS) - Hand in hand with UN Environment and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) disembarked in the Argentine capital to prompt this country to adopt and promote the agenda of so-called green finance, which supports clean or sustainable development projects and combats climate change.

The PBOC, which as China’s central bank regulates the country’s financial activity and monitors its monetary activity, has been particularly interested in Argentina, because next year it will preside over the Group of 20 (G20) industrialised and emerging economies.

In 2018, Buenos Aires will become the first Latin American city to organise a summit of the G20 forum, in which the major global powers discuss issues on the global agenda.

“China started to develop strategies to promote green finance international collaboration in the G20 framework in 2016, the year when it took over the presidency. And Germany took over this year the presidency and decided to continue. We are looking forward to Argentina to continue with this topic of green finance in 2018,” said Ma Jun, chief economist at the PBoC, in a meeting with a small group of reporters at the UNDP offices in Buenos Aires.

“Once the companies begin to release the environmental information, we’ll see that money will begin to change direction. Some of the money which is invested in the polluting sector will be redirected to the green companies. And that costs governments zero. It’s only a requirement for the companies to disclose their environmental information.” -- Ma Jun

Ma, a distinguished economist who has worked at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Deutsche Bank, was the keynote speaker at the International Symposium on Green Finance, held Jul. 20-21 at IDB headquarters in Buenos Aires.

At that event, he told representatives of the public sector and private companies from a number of countries that over the past three years China has been making an important effort for its financial system to underpin a change in the development model, putting aside polluting industries and supporting projects that respect the environment and use resources more efficiently.

Ma, a high-ranking PBoC official since 2014, surprised participants in the Symposium stating that in 2015, China decided to change its development model because of the enormous environmental impact it had, which is reflected in the estimate he quoted: that “a million people a year die in China due to pollution-related diseases.“

He said four trillion yuan – approximately 600 billion dollars – will be needed to finance investments in environmentally sustainable projects over the next few years in China.

Simon Zadek, co-director of the UN Environment Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System, concurred with Ma.

He explained that the UN agency he co-heads promotes the “mobilisation of private capital towards undertakings compatible with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the commitments made in the Paris Agreement on climate change, by the financial markets, banks, investment funds and insurance companies.“

He added that “many countries have taken steps in that direction and China is one of the most inspiring, most ambitious at an internal level and most active in promoting international cooperation.“

“Financial markets and capital should take environmental and climate issues into account now, not tomorrow. We are hoping for Argentina’s leadership next year on this matter and we are ready to collaborate if it decides to do so,“ said the UN Environment official.

The Symposium was held a few days after this year’s G20 summit, which was hosted Jul. 7-8 by Hamburg, Germany.

During the summit the discrepancy became evident between the rest of the heads of government and U.S. President Donald Trump, who does not believe in climate change and withdrew his country from the Paris Agreement, which in December 2015 set commitments for all governments to reduce global warming.

In Hamburg, a meeting was held by the Green Finance Study Group (GFSG), created in 2016, the year China presided over the G20, and which is headed by Ma and Michael Sheren, senior advisor to the Bank of England, with UN Environment acting as its secretariat.

There are two main issues that the GFSG currently promotes for the financial industry to consider when deciding on the financing of infrastructure or productive projects: setting up an environmental risk analysis and using publicly available environmental data.

“PBoC, the largest Chinese bank, has verified that to invest too much in the polluting sector is not beneficial. The costs are higher and the profits lower, because lots of policies are more and more restrictive in the polluting sector,” Ma said, noting that the bank began to carry out environmental risk analysis two years ago.

For the chief economist, “the other focus is to allow financial markets to distinguish who is green and who is brown,” referring to the predominant model of development, based on draining natural resources and not preserving ecosystems.

“Once the companies begin to release the environmental information, we’ll see that money will begin to change direction. Some of the money which is invested in the polluting sector will be redirected to the green companies. And that costs governments zero. It’s only a requirement for the companies to disclose their environmental information,” added Ma.

An important part of the initiative is the promotion of the emission of so-called green bonds, to finance projects of renewable energy, energy saving, treatment of wastewater or solid waste, the construction of green buildings that emit less pollutants and reduce their energy consumption, and green transport.

But the promotion of green finance does not foresee the arrival of special funds for that purpose to countries of the developing South.

In fact, the “greening of the financial system“ mainly depends on the private sector, especially where the state has limited fiscal capacity, according to the conclusions of the G20’s GFSG.

For Rubén Mercado, UNDP economist in Argentina, governments can facilitate undertakings that are beneficial to the environment by changing policies, without the need for spending additional funds.

“The key issue is that of relative prices. In Argentina we have subsidised fossil fuels for years. Perhaps we would not even have to subsidise renewable forms of energy, but simply reduce our subsidies for fossil fuels so that the other sources can be developed,“ he said.

Ma took a similar approach, pointing out that “You don´t need to spend money, you just need to eliminate the subsidies” that are traditionally granted to fossil fuel producers, which hamper investments in clean energies.

In the Symposium in Buenos Aires a study was released about the economies of Germany, China and India, which revealed that in the last year they have invested in renewable energies just 0.7, 0.4 and 0.1 per cent of GDP, respectively.

“The massive demand for green financing simply cannot be met by the public sector or the fiscal system,” said Ma.

“In a country like China, 90 percent is being covered by the private sector. Globally, my feeling is that in the OECD countries the fiscal capacity is probably higher. Maybe more than 10 percent could be provided by governments,” he said.

“But in other economies with weaker fiscal capacity, the rate should be even lower than in China.”