In birds, the period spent brooding or guarding young chicks is highly variable, but such variation has seldom been studied. Previous single-year studies of Antarctic petrels Thalassoica antarctica and grey-headed albatrosses Thalassarche chrysostoma revealed a pronounced seasonal decline in brood-guarding duration and gave rise to the ‘synchronisation hypothesis’, which suggests that some of the variation in the length of the brood-guarding stage is related to predictable seasonal changes in the risk of chick predation. We tested the predictions of this and three other hypotheses in a two-site, four-year study of the black-browed albatross T. melanophris. The existence of a pronounced seasonal decline in brood-guarding duration was apparent at both sites, and in years of contrasting food availability, providing further support for the ‘synchronisation hypothesis’. Alternative explanations for this pattern are that short brood-guarding periods for late-hatched chicks result from a seasonal decline in food availability or from the fact that early nesting birds are of higher individual quality. However, these explanations are at odds with the absence of a seasonal decline in early chick growth or in probability of chick survival. Furthermore, adult quality (measured as past reproductive performance) had a weak and inconsistent effect on the duration of brood-guarding. Weather changes explained some of the variation in brood-guarding, but there were no differences between regions of contrasting climates. Individual pairs displayed a degree of inter-annual consistency in brood-guarding duration and, at least in some years, longer brood-guarding resulted in higher fledging probability. We speculate that a higher investment in brood-guarding increases the cost of reproduction, which counteracts other selective pressures that would otherwise lead to longer brood-guarding durations. read more

Written by FacebookTwitterLinkedInEmailMahir Kart/iStock(NEW YORK) — NFL Owners are planning a proposal that would add an additional game to every team’s regular season schedule, ESPN reports.The move could eliminate all preseason games, sources told ESPN. Currently, teams play four exhibition games every preseason.The NFL Players Association is reportedly not interested in an expanded season, especially if it comes without an increase in the percentage of league revenue that the players receive. Sources on both sides of the CBA negotiation believe that a deal is getting closer. The current agreement expires after the 2020 season.Copyright © 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved. September 26, 2019 /Sports News – National ESPN: NFL Owners could propose 17-game regular season schedule Beau Lund read more

Back to overview,Home naval-today OPV Rayo, Madagascan Navy Conduct Training Drills OPV Rayo, Madagascan Navy Conduct Training Drills View post tag: Training View post tag: Navy Authorities April 7, 2015 View post tag: Madagascan Navy View post tag: News by topic View post tag: Drills View post tag: Naval During a scheduled port of call in Antsiranana (Madagascar), the oceanic patrol vessel (OPV) ‘Rayo’ carried out training drills with personnel from the Madagascan Navy. This is the fifth time the ‘Rayo’ collaborates with Horn of Africa coastal states taking advantage of her deployment, participating in operation ‘Atalanta’.These training activities, framed within the so-called Local Maritime Capacity Building (LMCB) are part of the EU global strategy to eradicate piracy in the Indian Ocean, while enhancing the maritime security capabilities of regional nations.The Madagascan servicemen were toured around the ship and briefed on the ship’s precision navigation and digital mapping systems. They later put into practice the acquired knowledge of the theory classes.[mappress mapid=”15605″]Image: Spanish Navy View post tag: OPV Rayo View post tag: africa Share this article read more

Follow the Foreign Office on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn Further information Russia and Syria’s briefing at the OPCW premises today is a stunt. The Director General has opposed Russia’s decision to host this briefing today. The UK will not attend, in company with our allies. The OPCW is not a theatre. Russia’s decision to misuse it is yet another Russian attempt to undermine the OPCW’s work, and in particular the work of its Fact Finding Mission investigating chemical weapons use in Syria;The Director General of the OPCW has called on Russia and Syria to work with the Fact Finding Mission, and to wait for its report. Russia and Syria have ignored his concerns. Describing chemical weapons victims as ‘comedians’ is despicable. It shows the utter disregard Russia and Syria have for the suffering of the Syrian people, and indeed the global norm against chemical weapons use. Widespread reports of intimidation of witnesses to the Douma attack is a cause for real concern. The Director General has asked states to supply information about the Douma attack to his Fact Finding Mission. Russia and Syria should do so, instead of waging a propaganda campaign of misinformation. We will not compromise with states that seek to degrade the structures and treaties that keep us safe. Any witnesses with information related to chemical weapons attacks in Syria should be heard by the impartial OPCW Fact Finding Mission (FFM). We support the FFM and urge others to cease attempts to undermine its vital work. For journalists Media enquiries Follow the Foreign Office on Twitter @foreignoffice and Facebook Email [email protected] The UK has outlined its position on the briefing by the Russian Federation and the Syrian Arab Republic held at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) today on “the staged incident in Syrian Duma on 7 April, with the participation of unwitting comedians and other witnesses from the famous ‘White Helmets’ footage broad (sic) to The Hague straight from the site of the event.”Ambassador Peter Wilson, the UK’s Permanent Representative to the OPCW, said: read more

The SummerStage schedule is here! Every year, New York hosts the SummerStage series, bringing hundreds of artists to Central Park and various outdoor venues across the city for a series of concerts; a majority of which are free. Today, SummerStage revealed their full line-up for 2017, which spans from May 17th to September 13th. The series kicks off on May 17th with a performance by Gov’t Mule and Chris Robinson Brotherhood, which seems to us like they’re getting off on the right foot.The rest of the line-up is diverse and contains a little something for everyone. Also on the list to perform is Umphrey’s McGee, Aqueous, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Bob Moses, GZA, Elvis Costello and the Imposters, Wax Tailor, Digable Planets, Tank and the Bangas, The Revivalists, White Denim, Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ Band, and many other musical acts.You can check out the full lineup here and watch the season trailer SummerStage put together below! read more

Population: 7,170Public lands: Jefferson National Forest, Moore’s Creek State ForestOutdoor Highlights: hiking, fly fishing, camping, whitewater paddling at Goshen Pass, paddling the Maury River, bicycling the Blue Ridge

By Dialogo March 15, 2010 The grandiosity of the USNS Comfort can only be compared with the greatness of his mission and the value of his crew involved in the noble mission of saving lives. Congratulations to all the wonderful performance and dignified professionalism. The hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) departed Haiti March 10. The ship’s departure follows a decision by U.S. Southern Command to release the ship after determining her crew completed the humanitarian relief mission it was directed to conduct in the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 12 earthquake that devastated the Caribbean nation. The need for Comfort’s capabilities declined significantly during the final weeks of its mission as medical facilities and field hospitals in Haiti assumed a greater role addressing the healthcare needs of Haitians and the need for urgent, life-saving medical care steadily declined. “Over the last 10 days, we’ve seen over a 65 percent reduction in patients on board the [Comfort] as they have been appropriately transferred to local hospitals for follow-on care,” Col. Jennifer Menetrez, Joint Task Force-Haiti’s surgeon told bloggers during a DoDLive bloggers’ roundtable March 4. The last patient treated for earthquake-related injuries aboard Comfort was discharged from the hospital ship on Feb. 27, according to Menetrez. Comfort began supporting humanitarian relief efforts in Haiti after receiving its first patients a day before anchoring off the coast of Port-au-Prince Jan. 20. Over the course of seven weeks, the ship’s U.S military and civilian medical personnel treated 871 patients, receiving one patient every six to nine minutes at the height of the recovery effort. Comfort’s medical staff also performed 843 surgeries aboard the ship during the mission, treating more than 540 critically-injured earthquake survivors within the first 10 days. The hospital ship ran 10 operating rooms at full capacity to care for injured Haitian and U.S. earthquake survivors requiring surgical care. Comfort’s medics also treated U.S. and international military personnel transferred to the ship by physicians on the ground for surgical and non-surgical care. Volunteer experts from the Orthopedic Trauma Association, Project Hope, Operation Smile, National Nurses United, Johns Hopkins Emergency Medicine and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) provided the ship’s medical team with orthopedic trauma, surgical, nursing and anesthesia support. “We are immensely proud of the contributions made by everyone who helped treat critically-injured earthquake survivors aboard Comfort,” said U.S. Air Force Gen. Douglas Fraser, Commander of U.S. Southern Command. “Their efforts saved the lives of many patients and helped everyone treated begin the important process of recovery. “Their rapid response and contribution to the international relief efforts in Haiti helped the country overcome an urgent medical crisis at a time when access to surgical care on the ground was very limited,” he said. During their mission, Comfort’s crew worked closely with Haiti’s Ministry of Health and healthcare professionals from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), international relief organizations and NGOs to secure follow-on care for patients in recovery. By early February, as relief efforts in the areas near the earthquake’s epicenter gained momentum and medical treatment facilities expanded operations ashore, the amount of patients with earthquake-related injuries transferred to Comfort for care steadily declined. By Feb. 28, Comfort was no longer treating patients with earthquake-related injuries. Comfort is scheduled to return to its home port in Baltimore March 14. USNS Comfort previously deployed to Port-au-Prince, Haiti for 12 days in April 2009 as part of Operation Continuing Promise 2009 — a four-month humanitarian and civic assistance deployment to seven countries (including Haiti) in the Caribbean, Central and South America. During the Haiti segment of the mission, Comfort’s medical staff treated 6,731 patients, performed 161 surgeries, and filled 15,504 prescriptions. read more

By Andréa Barretto/Diálogo October 16, 2020 The Paraguayan People’s Army (EPP, in Spanish) criminal group has been carrying out a series of crimes, mainly in the Northern region of the country. The small group was created in 2008, but some of its current members have been conducting clandestine and criminal activities since the 1990s, representing the armed branch of the far-left political party, Patria Libre.A sign from the Paraguayan government shows the EPP members accused of kidnapping former Vice President Óscar Denis. (Photo: Paraguayan government)The EPP is accused of having connections with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC, in Spanish). “They were inspired by the FARC, trained by the FARC, and now they are engaged in narcotrafficking activities and recruiting children and teenagers,” said a government source to BBC Brasil.Like the FARC, the EPP typically promotes videos showing people dressed as soldiers, with their faces partially covered, and displaying weapons. One of these videos from early September 2020 shows minors holding heavy weaponry. According to Paraguayan security forces, they have identified 11 minors participating in the EPP’s activities, from 17-year-old teenagers to children as young as 11 years old.In 2013, the Paraguayan government created the Joint Task Force (JTF), a special team comprised of police officers and service members to combat the EPP. After new videos circulated, they created a committee to investigate the participation of minors with the criminal group. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Paraguayan government “will double their efforts to combat all criminal organizations tied to the exploitation and use of children and teenagers in illegal and criminal activities.”Regarding involvement with narcotrafficking activities, the Paraguayan National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD, in Spanish) said that the EPP maintains a relationship with the largest Brazilian criminal faction, the First Capital Command (PCC, in Portuguese). According to SENAD’s investigations, which surfaced in September, PCC narcotraffickers pay EPP members in exchange for protecting marijuana crops in the Northern region of Paraguay, in addition to ensuring security along routes for drugs and weapons bound for Brazil.Kidnapping as a form of pressureOn September 9, the EPP kidnapped former Vice President of Paraguay Óscar Denis and his employee Adelio Mendoza. Armed men stopped the former vice president as he drove in the state of Concepción, some 400 kilometers from the Paraguayan capital, Asunción. This crime adds to dozens of other kidnappings the criminal group has carried out.The previous week, on September 2, the EPP was targeted by a JTF operation, which dismantled one of the main EPP camps close to the area where the former vice president was kidnapped. Directly following the operation, JTC forces found the bodies of two 11-year-old girls at the site of the operation. An investigation is underway to determine when and by whom the girls were killed, and whether they were EPP child soldiers or child victims. read more

Sign up for our COVID-19 newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest coronavirus news throughout New York A West Hempstead man involved in a fatal one-car crash was texting on his cell phone just prior to him crashing into a tree in Garden City Thursday, Nassau County police said.The driver, 59-year-old Michele Guglielmi, was driving a 1998 Volvo east on Stewart Avenue just before 10 p.m. when he crossed into the westbound lanes and struck a tree on the north side of the road, police said. Guglielmi was pronounced dead at a local hospital at 10:23 p.m., police said.“During the investigation it was determined that the victim had been texting on his cell phone just prior to the accident,” police said in a news release.The Volvo was impounded for a brake and safety check, police said. The investigation is continuing. read more

Sign up for our COVID-19 newsletter to stay up-to-date on the latest coronavirus news throughout New York Nassau County police are investigating an armed home invasion in Freeport during which the victim was pistol whipped and tied up over Columbus Day weekend.A 48-year-old man was entering his apartment on Atlantic Avenue when three gunmen pushed the victim inside and one of the assailants hit the victim in the head with a gun before tying him up at 6:55 p.m. Saturday, police said.It is unclear what the suspects stole before they fled. The victim was treated and released from a local hospital. Three family members of the victim were home at the time but were not injured.First Squad detectives request anyone with information regarding the above crime to contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous. read more