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       Germany is about to drop the last of its restrictions linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.

       The German health minister has announced that as of February 2, masks will no longer be required on long-distance trains and buses.

       The regulation was to have been in force until April 7, but the government has decided that it is no longer necessary, as the pandemic situation has subsided.

       However, authorities are encouraging vulnerable people to continue to wear masks when indoors and on public transport, on a voluntary basis and out of personal responsibility.

       Germany is one of the last European countries where it's obligatory to wear masks on long-distance public transport.

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       Czechs have started voting for a new president, with populist billionaire Andrej Babis leading a field of eight candidates in a two-day election to succeed Milos Zeman in the largely ceremonial post.

       Babis, a former prime minister, was acquitted this week in a fraud trial, which boosts his chances of winning in the first round of the presidential election which will run Friday and Saturday.

       If no candidate achieves a majority, as polls have indicated, the top two finishers will face each other in a runoff in two weeks’ time.

       Retired army General Petr Pavel, a former chairman of NATO’s military committee and former university rector and economist Danuse Nerudova, are Babis’ main challengers.

       The two political newcomers fully endorsed the country’s military and humanitarian support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia and see the Czech Republic’s future linked to its membership in the EU and NATO.

       Czechs start voting in the first round of presidential elections Czech voters head to the polls to choose their next president Former PM Andrej Babis cleared of fraud by Czech court

       Polls indicate that none of the remaining candidates are likely to make the runoff.

       They include Pavel Fischer, a former diplomat and adviser to former president Vaclav Havel, and Jaroslav Basta, a lawmaker for the country’s major anti-migrant force, the Freedom and Direct Democracy party.

       The current five-party ruling coalition endorsed Pavel, Nerudova and Fischer, who ran as independent candidates.

       Babis, whose centrist ANO (YES) movement ended up in opposition after losing the 2021 general election, is supported by his Zeman, with whom he shares euroskeptic views and is partial to using anti-migrant rhetoric.

       “We think that a different candidate than anyone supported by the government should be elected," Babis said.

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       Scientists working for oil giant ExxonMobil in the 1970s predicted global warming with great accuracy. That's according to a new study in the journal Science based on the company's internal documents.

       Exxon scientists forecast that the Earth would heat by about 0.2°C per decade due to the emission of greenhouse gases produced by oil and coal, matching current studies and findings.

       Not only was the company aware of climate change, but it forecast the phenomenon with equal or better precision than government and academic scientists, the study found.

       Climate change denial

       Despite this knowledge, Exxon publicly contradicted its own scientists for decades, saying that 'uncertainties' remained over the impact of burning fossil fuels.

       The company has been the target of numerous lawsuits that claim it was aware of the damage its oil and gas production caused but also that it misled the public into doubting the reality of climate change.

       ExxonMobil projections showing human-induced climate change Excerpt from the study: G. Supran, S. Rahmstorf and N. Oreskes / "Assessing ExxonMobil’s global warming projections"

       The projections made by Exxon scientists fit strict standards for accuracy, from 63% to 83% while the climate forecast presented by NASA scientist Dr James Hansen to US Congress in 1988, had a 38% to 66% precision.

       The oil company even predicted in the early '80s, that human-induced global heating would be detected around 2000. Exxon scientists were right, as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessed in 1995 that human-induced climate change was detected.

       'Exxon knew'

       Inside Climate News media, the Los Angeles Times and many activists, journalists and scientists reported that "Exxon knew" about climate change since about 1977 while deceiving the public.

       "This issue has come up several times in recent years and, in each case, our answer is the same: those who talk about how ‘Exxon Knew’ are wrong in their conclusions", said Todd Spitler, Exxon spokesman.

       “Some have sought to misrepresent facts and ExxonMobil’s position on climate science, and its support for effective policy solutions, by recasting well intended, internal policy debates as an attempted company disinformation campaign", added Spitler.

       ExxonMobil pledged in January 2022 to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. A decision that follows the arrival of the hedge fund, Engine N°1, at Exxon's board of directors.