
Trump vows to speed up permits for anyone investing $1bn in the USAKRON, Ohio (AP) — Nate Johnson scored 25 points to help Akron defeat Alabama State 97-78 on Sunday. Johnson added five rebounds for the Zips (4-2). Bowen Hardman scored 19 points, shooting 6 for 7 from beyond the arc. Isaiah Gray went 4 of 7 from the field to finish with 11 points. The Hornets (3-3) were led by CJ Hines with 19 points. Tyler Mack added 18 points and Antonio Madlock scored 17. Akron took the lead with 6:46 left in the first half and did not relinquish it. Johnson led their team in scoring with 13 points in the first half to help put them up 50-41 at the break. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .Honouring Malaysia's Rising Influence: ACES Awards 2024 Celebrate Leaders And Companies Shaping A Sustainable Future Media Outreach Newswire APAC
8 Thanksgiving mistakes: Frozen or overcooked turkey, too many sides and other common holiday miscues"HDBs" of coral fragments, or nubbins, each attached to a specially designed frame to maximise the number of corals that can be grown in the tanks. The nubbins of the staghorn coral at St John’s Island coral culture facility on Dec 10. Coral nubbins attached to a specially designed frame in one of the six specialised tanks in the coral culture facility at St John's Island. The tanks will be paired with a smart system that will send data on water quality to researchers. SINGAPORE – The Republic has launched its most ambitious coral-restoration project, growing corals from fragments in “high-rise” special tanks on St John’s Island. Once grown to a healthy size, 100,000 of these corals will be planted on degraded reefs or empty sea spaces to create new reef habitats. The first step of this decade-long effort began at a new facility in the island’s Marine Park Outreach and Education Centre – home to six specialised tanks that can be used for large-scale coral cultivation. The six tanks can hold up to 3,600 coral fragments, or nubbins, at any one time. To date, more than $2 million has been raised for the restoration project. The facility is still in the works and is targeted to fully open in the second quarter of 2025. For now, there are about 600 nubbins growing in two of the tanks. While the initial stages of the project will be helmed by researchers, marine enthusiasts will be later invited to the lab to grow corals and monitor them, said National Development Minister Desmond Lee on Dec 10, as he announced the launch of the initiative on St John’s Island. The National Parks Board (NParks), St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory and the Friends of Marine Park community will train members of the public to cultivate corals, monitor their growth and do weeding work to remove algae from the corals, among other things. More details on public participation will be shared when ready. When the coral-restoration project was announced in 2023, NParks said it would take at least 10 years to complete. Once grown to a healthy size, 100,000 of these corals will be planted on degraded reefs or empty sea spaces to create new reef habitats. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM At the launch, Mr Lee was joined by world-renowned British primate expert Jane Goodall, who was on a working visit to Singapore. Over the decades, about 60 per cent of Singapore’s coral reefs have been lost to coastal development and land reclamation. Most of its remaining intact coral reefs are found in the Southern Islands. The Republic’s waters are home to around 250 species of hard corals, which constitute about a third of the world’s existing coral species. The reefs here serve as habitat for more than 100 species of reef fish, about 200 species of sea sponges, and rare and endangered seahorses and clams, among other marine life. The six tanks can hold up to 3,600 coral fragments, or nubbins, at any one time. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM Beyond boosting marine biodiversity, restoring corals will protect coastlines from waves and storms, which are expected to get stronger amid sea-level rise and climate change. The corals to be grown in tanks and planted in the wild include several species under NParks’ species recovery programme, which protects threatened flora and fauna and helps them survive environmental change. These include the branching staghorn coral and the flat table acropora coral. The acropora is not a common species here because it thrives in waters with strong currents and good visibility – conditions that are rarely found in Singapore. The acropora species is not common in local waters. photo: NParks Coral nubbins are fragments trimmed from a colony of adult corals. However, marine biologists usually prioritise loose corals that would otherwise tumble and die when swept by waves. Mr Lee said cultivating corals in specialised tanks is an ambitious undertaking, with conditions such as lighting and temperature as well as water quality and flow needing to be specific to each species. To allow hundreds of coral fragments to grow in each tank, scientists at the St John’s Island National Marine Laboratory are cultivating them on vertical structures, among other methods. Coral nubbins are attached to plugs that are then affixed to a vertical frame. The scientists and NParks staff have named these set-ups “coral HDBs”, said the minister. Small coral nubbins are fragmented from the adult colony. PHOTO: NPARKS Dr Lionel Ng, a research fellow at the NUS Tropical Marine Science Institute who is involved in the coral-restoration work, noted that the survival rate of transplanted corals is about 80 per cent to 90 per cent, which is on a par with the 80 per cent survival rate of corals found in the wild here. The tanks are paired with a smart system that will send data on water quality to researchers. This allows them to monitor tank conditions remotely and be alerted if they need to intervene. The system is a technology of Delta Electronics, a firm that specialises in industrial and building automation solutions. Delta is also one of several donors of the more than $2 million raised so far. The other donors include GSK-EDB Trust Fund, Deutsche Bank, Takashimaya Singapore and marine fuel firm KPI OceanConnect. A smart coral culture aquaculture system set up by Delta Electronics and installed in the culture tanks at St John’s Island’s coral culture facility on Dec 10. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM The launch of the restoration effort comes as existing corals are slowly recovering from the largest recorded global bleaching event caused by a marine heatwave. Announced in mid-April by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the global bleaching event was the fourth of its kind. In July, areas such as St John’s, Lazarus and Kusu Islands were found to have 30 per cent to 55 per cent of coral colonies bleached and white. With water temperatures dropping in recent months, bleached corals have started to regain colour, said Mr Lee. NParks and NUS have been monitoring Singapore’s reefs for bleaching since July. The findings will help identify which species are under threat and which ones are climate-resilient, and will also narrow down suitable planting sites for future coral-restoration efforts, said Mr Lee. On whether restored corals will be able to survive future marine heatwaves, Dr Ng pointed to a research project that aims to enhance the ecological resilience of coral reefs against climate change. “Information from that (study) will feed into this. We’ll refine our final strategies to see which species are suitable for which areas. It’s a matter of tweaking what we know of the environment and what we know of the corals to find the best match,” he added. In her address to NParks, scientists and groups involved in the restoration project, Dr Goodall said: “We know that oceans and forests are the two great capturers of carbon dioxide (CO2) on the planet... In the oceans, we have the kelp forests and the seagrass which absorb as much CO2 as a small inland forest. “It’s no good just protecting corals if we don’t protect kelp forests and seagrass, if we don’t protect forests and peatlands. It’s all interconnected.” Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads. Read 3 articles and stand to win rewards Spin the wheel now
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. (AP) — Jordan Sears scored 25 points, Jalen Reed had 21 points and 13 rebounds, and LSU defeated UCF 109-102 in triple overtime on Sunday to take third place at the Greenbrier Tip-Off. LSU trailed by 18 points early in the second half, then failed to hold a lead at the end of regulation and each of the first two overtime periods. The Tigers went up by five with a minute to go in the third overtime. UCF cut it to three, then Vyctorius Miller made a driving layup, Jordan Sears followed with a dunk and the Tigers were able to hold on when leading by seven. Cam Carter scored 20 points, Miller had 16 and Dji Bailey 14 for LSU (5-1). Darius Johnson had 25 points, eight assists and six rebounds for UCF (4-2). Keyshawn Hall had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Jordan Ivy-Curry scored 20. South Florida led by 15 points at halftime and maintained a double-digit lead for all but a few possessions in the first 11 1/2 minutes of the second half. UCF led 62-48 with 8 1/2 minutes remaining but Sears hit three 3-pointers and LSU drew to within 64-59 with 6 minutes to go. The Tigers scored the last six points of regulation to force overtime. In the first half, LSU led 15-13 about eight minutes into the game but the Tigers missed 15 of 16 shots while being outscored 25-3 over the next 10 minutes. South Florida led 40-25 at halftime after shooting 46% to 25% for LSU. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) — Marcus Adams Jr.'s 25 points helped CSU Northridge defeat Utah Tech 89-79 on Sunday night at the Stew Morrill Classic. Adams added five rebounds for the Matadors (4-1). Keonte Jones added 23 points while shooting 8 of 15 from the field and 5 for 10 from the line while they also had nine rebounds and three blocks. Scotty Washington had 19 points and went 7 of 14 from the field (3 for 6 from 3-point range). The Trailblazers (1-5) were led by Hakim Byrd, who posted 23 points. Utah Tech also got 15 points from Noa Gonsalves. Samuel Ariyibi finished with 14 points and three blocks. The Matadors play Denver and Utah Tech takes on Montana when the event wraps up on Monday. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .
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