Mars is a constantly tremoring "living" body, researchers said Monday as they unveiled measurements of seismic activity on the red planet showing similar tremble rates to Earth or the Moon.
For 15 months NASA's InSight robot craft scoured the surface of Earth's neighbour, and measured hundreds of so-called "Marsquakes".
These included several tremors that contained the same frequency patterns as tremors caused by the movement of Earth's own tectonic plates.
"This is the first mission focused on taking direct geophysical measurements of any planet besides Earth, and it's given us our first real understanding of Mars' interior structure and geological processes," said Nicholas Schmerr, an assistant professor of geology at the University of Maryland and a co-author of the study in Nature Geoscience.
Another team of researchers found that at least 20 of the quakes measured by the InSight lander had the equivalent strength of a magnitude 3-4 earthquake.
After a six-and-a-half-month voyage .

Trembling Mars gives up more seismic secrets

PTI Automatic

The World Health Organization said Monday the outbreak of the deadly new coronavirus has "peaked" in China, where new cases have been declining since early February.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that a mission of international experts determined that in China "the epidemic peaked and plateaued between the 23rd of January and the 2nd of February and has been declining steadily since then".

Coronavirus epidemic has 'peaked and plateaued' in China: WHO

A bus that arrived in the French city of Lyon from Milan in Italy was sealed off for several hours Monday after the driver showed symptoms of possible coronavirus infection, security sources said.
Health authorities isolated the bus in Lyon Perrache station early Monday and ordered the passengers to remain onboard for tests.  The LyonMag news site reported that a driver, who is Italian, was taken to hospital for tests because he had a bad cough.
"A bus is undergoing an inspection. Our teams are at the scene and an assessment is underway," a spokeswoman for the regional health agency told AFP.
Low-cost operator FlixBus said the bus, destined for the central city of Clermont-Ferrand, had stopped off in the Italian city of Turin and Grenoble in France on the way to Lyon.
A couple that boarded the bus in Lyon told AFP they were kept inside for over two hours before being allowed disembark after they were checked by doctors.
They said they were told they would be contacted again if the ...

Bus passengers from Italy blocked in France in coronavirus scare

Brazil defender Marcelo has been in court for driving with a suspended licence for the second time in seven years and speeding, a Madrid court revealed on Monday.
The high courts of justice in the Spanish capital said that the Real Madrid left-back had admitted to the offences after reportedly being clocked driving at 134 km/h (83.2mph) in a 120km/h zone in December.
He was subsequently found to be without a valid licence.
Marcelo was told to appear at a second hearing in March when sentencing could be handed down.
In March 2013 the 31-year-old, who has been at Real since 2007, was fined 6,000 euros ($6,492) for driving after his licence had been revoked.

Real's Marcelo in court for speeding and driving without licence

The World Health Organization chief said Monday the world should be working harder to contain the spread of the deadly new coronavirus, and should be preparing for a "potential pandemic".
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that so far, the WHO does not consider the outbreak that has killed more than 2,600 people a pandemic, but said countries should be "doing everything we can to prepare for a potential pandemic.

World must prepare for 'potential pandemic': WHO chief

Several people were injured Monday when a car drove into a carnival procession in central Germany, police said, adding that the driver had been arrested.
A spokeswoman for police in the town of Volksmarsen where the incident took place told AFP "it is too soon" to say whether the driver ploughed into the crowd on purpose.
"According to first reports, several people have been injured," police from nearby Kassel city said in a statement.  A picture from the scene showed police officers and rescue vehicles
next to a silver Mercedes with its doors open near a pile of debris on the side of the road.
The local Waldeckische Zeitung daily cited witnesses as reporting some 15 people injured, "including small children".
In many parts of Germany residents are celebrating Rose Monday, a highlight of the annual carnival festivities that sees adults and children dress up and attend parades where people play music and throw candies from floats.
The incident comes as Germany is still reeling from a ..

'Several injured' as car rams Germany carnival procession

Wall Street stocks plunged in early trading on Monday, joining a global equity selloff on mounting worries that the spread of the new coronavirus will derail global growth.
About 10 minutes into trading, the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 28,191.85, down 2.8 per cent or around 800 points.
The broad-based S&P 500 dove 2.6 per cent to 3,252.23, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index sank 3.1 per cent to 9,282.16.
Losses were widespread with the technology, financial and energy sectors all down significantly as news of additional infections in Europe, the Middle East and Asia triggered more drastic efforts to stop people from travelling.
Bourses in Europe and Asia also fell sharply.
"There is burgeoning fear that the shutdown effect that has hit China's economy is going to take over elsewhere, dealing another blow to global growth, and earnings growth, prospects," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

US stocks join global rout on coronavirus fears

Lionel Messi is the "greatest" footballer of all time, ahead of even Diego Maradona, Napoli coach Gennaro Gattuso said on Monday ahead of his side's Champions League clash with Barcelona.
The 32-year-old Messi scored four goals at the weekend in Barcelona's 5-0 win over Eibar and has now been involved in more than 1,000 goals in his career, scoring 696 and assisting another 306.
Gattuso was quick to praise Messi, comparing the Barca star to Napoli legend Maradona.
"He's the greatest and an example for everyone," said Gattuso ahead of the sides' last-16 first leg on Tuesday.
"He never says anything inappropriate. He does things that only exist on the Playstation, unthinkable things.
"But I saw him (Maradona) on VHS, or DVD. I never saw him up close, at a stadium.
"I know the champion he was and I know I missed something wonderful. I regret it. Today I see Messi doing things that Maradona was doing."
Napoli captain Lorenzo Insigne was not so keen to accept that Messi has reached greater 

Messi 'greatest' ahead of Maradona, says Napoli boss Gattuso

Wall Street stocks plunged in opening trading on Monday, joining a global equity selloff on mounting worries that the spread of the new coronavirus will derail global growth.
Just after the opening bell, the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 28,015.53, down 3.4 per cent or nearly 1,000 points.
The broad-based S&P 500 dove 3.2 per cent to 3,232.63, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index sank 4.2 per cent to 9,178.24.

US stocks open down more than 3% on virus fears

Sport in Italy is being heavily disrupted by a surge in the number of new coronavirus cases but Napoli's Champions League match against Barcelona in the south of the country on Tuesday is not at risk.
Italy reported its fifth death from the virus on Monday and it has the most confirmed cases in Europe.
A surge in infections at the weekend forced the postponement of four Serie A football matches in the north of the country where the outbreak is concentrated in two regions.
The game between Torino and Parma in Turin was called off as well as the matches between title-chasing Inter Milan and Sampdoria, Atalanta and Sassuolo, and Hellas Verona and Cagliari.
AC Milan also announced the postponement of their women's team's match against Fiorentina on Sunday.
The government announced on Sunday that all sporting events in two northern regions would be suspended, with Sports Minister Vincenzo Spadafora saying the government had "a duty to be prudent and responsible".
Napoli's last 16 Champions 

Coronavirus hits Italian sport hard

Oman on Monday reported its first two cases of coronavirus, and halted flights to and from Iran with immediate effect, authorities and reports said.
Two Omani women who had returned from Iran -- which is battling the deadliest outbreak outside China -- were diagnosed with the disease and were in a stable condition, state TV reported.
The civil aviation authority said in a tweet that it was "suspending all civilian flights between the sultanate and the Islamic Republic of Iran starting today and until further notice".

Oman reports first two cases of coronavirus, halts flights to Iran

The disruption caused by the virus outbreak in China will have an effect on the US economy, but the magnitude of the hit remains uncertain, a White House economist said Monday.
With the death toll worldwide reaching 2,600, the official cautioned that other illnesses such as influenza are responsible for far more fatalities annually than the COVID-19 virus that originated in central China.
Global stock markets were reeling Monday amid renewed fears about the spread of the virus, with Italy, Iran and South Korea emerging as new hotspots.
"The real threat, I think, is obviously the coronavirus. We don't know yet, but we're taking a wait and see approach," said Tomas Philipson, acting director of the White House Council of Economic Advisors.
"That doesn't mean that economic effects from all the shutdowns in China won't have any impact. They will," he told a conference of the National Association for Business Economics.
With the outbreak showing little sign of easing, investors are ...

China shutdowns to impact economy: White House economist

Greece will sign a wide-ranging defence deal with France in coming months, the two countries' defence ministers said Monday, months after a similar agreement between Athens and Washington.
"We have decided to reinforce bilateral defence and security cooperation in a very significant manner," French Defence Minister Florence Parly told reporters after talks with her Greek counterpart Nikos Panagiotopoulos in Athens.
The agreement to be signed by June will include joint naval and land exercises, defence industry cooperation and an "increased" French naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean, Panagiotopoulos said.
Parly said French Rafale fighters will take part in Greece's annual air force exercise, code-named Iniochos, in May.
Greece is keen to enlist the support of EU and NATO partners amid rising tension with neighbouring Turkey, fuelled by energy exploration rivalry and migration concerns.
Paris has publicly expressed exasperation with Ankara over its energy exploration off ...

After US, Greece to sign defence deal with France: officials

Qatar's ruler offered 10,000 new jobs specifically for Jordanians during a two-day visit to Amman, Qatar News Agency said Sunday, a sign of warming relations between the two states.
Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani announced the creation of "10,000 jobs in Qatar for our Jordanian brothers, in addition to the 10,000 jobs already announced in August 2018", state-run QNA wrote on Twitter.
Lacking in natural resources and reliant on foreign aid, Jordan's unemployment rate is 18.5 percent and the poverty rate over 15 percent, according to official figures.
The kingdom reduced its diplomatic presence in Doha in June 2017 after Saudi Arabia and its allies Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt severed diplomatic ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting "terrorists" and of being too close to Iran.
The Qatari emir, who arrived in Jordan earlier Sunday, also pledged "USD 30 million in assistance" to the kingdom's military pension fund, QNA added.
King Abdullah II and the emir ...

Qatar offers 10,000 jobs to Jordanians

Fighting in northwest Syria is coming "dangerously close" to encampments with around a million displaced people, risking an imminent "bloodbath", the UN said on Monday.
Mark Cutts, the UN's Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, also said the UN was trying to double aid deliveries across a border crossing from Turkey from 50 to 100 trucks a day.
"The fighting is now coming dangerously close to an area where more than a million are living in tents and makeshift shelters," Cutts told reporters in Geneva.
Cutts warned there was a risk of "a real bloodbath".
A months-long offensive by Russia-backed Syrian troops against rebels backed by Turkey in northwest Idlib has seen hundreds of thousands of people flee the violence.
As a result of the escalation, Cutts said the UN was revising up its funding appeal for the crisis from USD 330 million to USD 500 million (462 million euros), adding that there was a shortfall of about USD 370 million.
The UN sent 1,200 aid trucks 

UN warns of 'bloodbath' risk in northwest Syria

Sri Lanka will deploy troops to help police control worsening traffic congestion in the capital, the army said on Monday.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a retired army officer, ordered the military to assist traffic officers at the main entry and exit points to Colombo, a city which nearly a million people enter or leave daily, a spokesman said.
The military police will also lend support "in any other area where their services are required", spokesman Chandana Wickremasinghe added.
Traffic slows to a snail's space in Colombo during the morning and evening rush hours making it one of the slowest road systems in South Asia.
Recent studies have shown average speeds drop below seven kilometres (4.3 miles) an hour in the morning and the evening.
The capital does not have a mass transit system, forcing many to use their own transport that chokes the narrow streets.
But Sri Lanka began work on its first light rail transit system last year at an estimated cost of USD 1.5 billion. The ...

Sri Lanka deploys troops to control worsening traffic

Nature experts and government delegates gather this week in Rome to thrash out an international deal for endangered species, trying to avoid a mass extinction event caused by human activity.
Having been hastily relocated from Kunming in China following the coronavirus outbreak, negotiators from more than 140 countries have until February 29 to study a draft text.
The 12-page document, which focuses on goals to be met by mid-century and envisages a stock-take in 2030, should be adopted at the COP15 summit on biodiversity in October.
The United Nations biodiversity panel IPBES last year warned that up to one million species face the risk of extinction as a result of humanity's insatiable desire for land and materials.
"I cannot underscore enough the importance of making progress at this meeting," said Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, acting executive secretary for the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity.
"The world is eagerly waiting out there for demonstrable progress towards a clear, ...

Nations seek biodiversity accord to stave off mass extinction

French former prime minister Francois Fillon and his wife Penelope appeared in court on Monday over claims they embezzled over one million euros in an alleged fake-jobs fraud.
The couple made no statement as they entered the Paris courthouse under police escort, as dozens of lawyers massed outside in the latest protest over plans to merge their pension scheme into a single system.
The eagerly-awaited trial of the former presidential hopeful and his wife had been due to start Monday but the court granted their request to delay the opening until Wednesday in solidarity with the lawyers' strike.
Investigators suspect that Fillon, 65, hired his Welsh-born wife Penelope as his parliamentary assistant between 1998 and 2013, without having her do any actual work.
The allegations that Penelope, who is also charged in the case, was paid up to 10,000 euros (USD 10,800) a month for little to no work emerged in January 2017 and quickly snowballed into a scandal that cost Fillon his shot at the ...

French court delays fraud trial for ex-premier Fillon

Libya's warring sides have proposed a draft ceasefire agreement that would see the United Nations monitor the safe return of civilians to their homes, the UN said Monday.
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said it would facilitate the ceasefire process alongside a military commission with members from both sides.
The announcement came after a second round of indirect military talks in Geneva between Libya's Government of National Accord (GNA) and eastern military commander Khalifa Haftar's forces.
The talks, mediated by UN envoy Ghassan Salame, are aimed at brokering lasting ceasefire to fighting that has left more than 1,000 people dead and displaced some 140,000 since last April, according to the UN.
Several rounds of talks focused on economic issues, including fairer distribution of Libya's oil wealth, have also taken place in Egypt and Tunisia, and talks towards a political solution are scheduled to start in Geneva on Wednesday.
UNSMIL said it and the two parties 

Libya's warring sides propose draft ceasefire deal: UN

Suspended Kenyan Olympic 1,500 metres and three-time world champion Asbel Kiprop has announced he is turning his back on athletics to try his hand at motorsport.
The controversial athlete, who is serving a four-year doping ban imposed in April 2019 after he tested positive for EPO, has joined a Nairobi motor-rallying academy with the hope of honing his motorsport skills.
"I am ready to begin again in a sport that doesn't have doping conspiracy," the 30-year-old Kiprop, who waged a long battle to prove his doping innocence, said on Twitter.
"I will be patient again to be able to be champion. I will be climbing this ladder hoping to learn the next game."
Kiprop is known for being a fast driver, resulting in a road crash in November 2013 when he lost control of his vehicle that left him with a few bruises.
Kiprop's entry into motorsport comes only five months before Kenya welcomes the return of the World Rally Championship -- the Safari Rally in July.

Banned Kenyan runner Asbel Kiprop to turn to motorsport

Iran's government vowed Monday to be transparent after being accused of covering up the deadliest coronavirus outbreak outside China, dismissing claims the toll could be as high as 50.
The authorities in the Islamic republic have come under mounting public pressure since it took days for them to admit to "accidentally" shooting down a Ukrainian airliner last month, killing 176 people.
The government said on Monday that Iran's coronavirus death toll had jumped by four to 12 - by far the highest outside China -- as its neighbours closed their borders and imposed strict quarantine measures.
But Ahmad Amirabadi Farahani, a lawmaker from the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran, alleged the government was "lying" about the full extent of the outbreak.
The ILNA news agency, which is close to reformists, said the lawmaker spoke of "50 deaths" in Qom alone.
"The rest of the media have not published this figure, but we prefer not to censor what concerns the coronavirus because people's lives are .

AFP

AFP

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