African penguins endangered by shipping noise

 African penguins endangered by shipping noise

　　A study in the US journal Science of the Total Environment found that since the South African government allowed ships to carry out "sea refueling" in the waters off St. Croix in the Algoa Bay six years ago, the noise caused by it has caused the island to African penguin populations are in sharp decline. Algoa Bay, a busy shipping lane on South Africa's east coast, is rich in marine and bird life, with St Croix once home to the world's largest bird breeding colony. According to the marine experts who led the relevant research, the breeding on St. Croix Island has decreased from 8,500 pairs in 2016 to 1,200 pairs in 2022, a decrease of nearly 86%. The African penguins of the archipelago are endangered.

　　(Compiled from Reuters)

Angola discovers world's largest pink diamond in 300 years

　　In July 2022, the Australian miner Lukapa Diamond Company discovered a very rare large pink diamond in the African country of Angola, which weighed 170 carats. The diamond, reportedly one of the largest gemstones ever discovered in 300 years, was dubbed the "Rose of Loulo". Pink diamonds have long been prized by connoisseurs, and the discovery is one of the rarest and purest natural diamonds. The diamond company said the pink diamond was found in the Loulo alluvial diamond mine. It is reported that this diamond is likely to set a sky-high price in international auctions. "Only one in every 10,000 diamonds is pink. So when a very large pink diamond is found, people must be eager to see this rare gem," said the company's president.

　　(Compiled from the Associated Press )

Deep red light 'recharges' debilitating vision

　　Staring at a deep red light for just a few minutes a day can significantly improve vision loss - the first time it's been found in humans, a study from the University of London has found. Brief exposure of the human eye to light of the appropriate wavelength "recharges" the weakened energy system of retinal cells, like recharging a battery, and can significantly improve debilitating vision in the elderly, said lead author of the study. However, in order to further verify the effectiveness of the research, scientists need to conduct longer double-blind trials in a larger population.

　　(Compiled from Big think)

South Korea hits world's lowest fertility rate

　　Relevant data from the Korean Statistics Office in August 2022 showed that South Korea once again set a record for the lowest fertility rate in the world, and the figure dropped to 0.81-this means that the average number of children born to Korean women in their lifetime is only 0.81. South Korea, whose birth rate has been falling since 2015, recorded more deaths than births for the first time in 2020; its population is expected to halve by the end of the 21st century. As the fertility rate falls, South Korean women are also getting older at childbearing age. According to statistics, the average age of women who will give birth in 2021 is 33.4 years, an increase of 0.2 years over the previous year. Although the South Korean government spends tens of billions of dollars each year to encourage people to have children, it has so far achieved little and has failed to reverse the trend of declining birth rates across the country.

India bans hotels, restaurants from charging service charges

　　Recently, India's consumer protection agency announced that hotels and restaurants are prohibited from charging service charges in their bills. Previously, hotels and restaurants usually added a 5% to 15% tip to the service charge item on the customer's bill. Authorities say the new rules prohibit restaurants from "defaulting or automatically adding a service charge" to their bills and tipping customers "by any other name" in response to growing complaints about customers being forced to pay for service, authorities said. Restricting access to consumers or refusing to provide services to consumers on the grounds of fees. The Indian government said customers were free to tip whether or not to tip, but charging extra without their consent was an "unfair trade practice".