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Europe, Mediterranean coast saw record drought in August: AFP analysis of EU data
Philippine lawmaker quits top job as graft probe moves forward Floods devastate India's breadbasket of Punjab Landslides kill 12 after eastern Malaysia deluges Philippines president says corruption scandal protests justified Philippines commission to probe widening flood project scandal Magnitude 7.4 quake strikes off Russian Far East, tsunami warning lifted Magnitude 7.4 quake strikes off Russian Far East, tsunami warning issued S.Sudan flooding displaces 100,000 in matter of weeks: UN Afghan deputy PM visits earthquake hit area |
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  Geneva (AFP) Jan 5, 2017 Five and a half million people in Damascus are now suffering water shortages, the UN said Thursday, warning that targeting water sources constitutes a "war crime". "In Damascus itself, 5.5 million people have had their water supplies cut or minimised," the head of the UN-backed humanitarian taskforce for Syria, Jan Egeland, told reporters in Geneva. The water from the rebel-held area of Wadi Barada, near Damascus, has been cut since December 22, causing major shortages. The UN had previously ... read more |
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How we shop hurts endangered speciesThe hidden danger to wildlife posed by imported consumer goods - an espresso coffee in Beijing, a tofu salad in Chicago - can now be pinpointed and measured, researchers said Wednesday. ... more 
A trip to the land of endangered ancient olive treesThe sun sets in eastern Spain and dozens of ancient olive trees cast long shadows on the ground. ... more 
Chickens are smarter and more complex than given credit forThe chicken isn't as dull or dumb as most people think, according to Lori Marino, senior scientist for the Someone Project - a research effort focused on the psychology, behavior and emotions of domestic farm animals. ... more 
Strip tillage, rowcovers for organic cucurbit productionPlasticulture systems, the use of polyethylene mulch on raised beds with drip irrigation, are common in the production of many cucurbit crops in the Northeastern US. Plasticulture systems have numer ... more |
| Previous Issues | Jan 05 | Jan 04 | Jan 03 | Jan 02 | Jan 01 |
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Zimbabwe water crisis gives rise to backdoor sellersFrom jobless youths hired to dig wells to illegal sellers supplying water in buckets and large tanks, some enterprising Zimbabweans are cashing in on the country's desperate water shortages. ... more 
Zambia drafts in air force to combat pestsZambia has ordered the national air force into action to fight a plague of pests that has invaded maize crops and threatened vital food supplies. ... more 
Damascenes struggle after clashes cut off waterNear a church in old Damascus, people in a long queue wait impatiently for the tanker to fill their canisters after being deprived of water for a week. ... more 
Britain gets creative in fighting rampant food wasteOne of Europe's worst offenders on food waste, Britain is beginning to get its act together thanks to a surge in volunteer initiatives that help the poor as well as creating a bit of seasonal cheer. ... more 
China's Sichuan cannot get enough spicy marinated rabbit headsChinese diners greedily crack open delicate rabbit skulls and slurp down their contents, tucking into a delicacy so popular in one province that it has to import supplies from France. ... more |
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 After Asia, palm oil faces backlash in Africa 
Research reveals movement and evolution of potato famine pathogenThe pathogen responsible for the Irish potato famine that killed more than a million people may have originated in South America. That's the conclusion of a team of scientists from North Carolina State University who recently analyzed the movement and evolution of the potato pathogen. ... more 
Rebels blamed for 'poisoning' Damascus waterResidents of the Syrian capital were facing their third consecutive day of water shortages on Sunday, with authorities accusing "terrorist groups" of deliberately poisoning water resources. ... more |
  
NASA's TIMED mission - short for Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics - yielded a batch of new discoveries to end its 15th year in orbit. From a more precise categorization of the upper atmosphere's response to solar storms, to pinpointing the signatures of a fundamental behavior of carbon dioxide, TIMED's unique position and instruments, along with its decade-plus data r ... more Fossil fuel formation: Key to atmosphere's oxygen? Scientists use satellites to spot Svalbard avalanches Lockheed Martin Completes Assembly of NOAA's GOES-S Weather Satellite |
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China plans to form a BeiDou network consisting of 35 satellites for global navigation services by 2020, said a white paper released by the State Council Information Office on Tuesday.
The country plans to start providing basic services to countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-century Maritime Silk Road in 2018, said the document titled "China's Space Activities in 2016." ... more Austrian cows swap bells from 'hell' for GPS Russia, China Making Progress in Synchronization of GLONASS, BeiDou Systems Alpha Defence Company To Make Navigation Satellites For ISRO |
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  Scientists at the University of Bath are developing a process for turning pinene, the chemical that gives pine trees their distinct aroma, into plastic.
Pinene is found in pine needles and is also a paper industry waste product. It is part of the terpene chemical family, a group that includes a variety of hydrocarbons found in conifers.
In recent years, materials scientists have ... more Obama creates two new national monuments Amazonia's best and worst areas for carbon recovery revealed Warming could slow upslope migration of trees |
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The use of residual forest biomass for rural development faces significant economic hurdles that make it unlikely to be a source of jobs in the near future, according to an analysis by economists at Oregon State University.
In a model of the forest industry, researchers in the College of Forestry combined an evaluation of costs for collecting, transporting and processing biomass with the p ... more Potential biofuel crops in Hawaii may successfully sequester carbon in soil Biomass operations aren't currently feasible in rural communities Molecular Velcro boosts microalgae's potential in biofuel, industrial applications |
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The notion of using solar cells placed under the skin to continuously recharge implanted electronic medical devices is a viable one. Swiss researchers have done the math, and found that a 3.6 square centimeter solar cell is all that is needed to generate enough power during winter and summer to power a typical pacemaker. The study is the first to provide real-life data about the potential of usi ... more Stability challenge in perovskite solar cell technology First movie of energy transfer in photosynthesis solves decades-old debate Artificial leaf goes more efficient for hydrogen generation |
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The amount of energy generated by renewables fluctuates depending on the natural variability of resources at any given time. The sun isn't always shining, nor is the wind always blowing, so traditional power plants must be kept running, ready to fill the energy gap at a moment's notice. Because the grid has no storage, and unlike coal or nuclear, there is no control over the fluctuating producti ... more French power group aims to double wind capacity New rules for micro-grids in Alberta Offshore wind makes U.S. debut |
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China has set a target of reducing its annual coal capacity by 800 million tonnes, according to a government plan reported Saturday by state media.
Despite the target, Beijing expects total coal output to rise to around 3.9 billion tonnes by 2020, compared to 3.75 billion tonnes in 2015, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing a document issued by the country's top economic planning bod ... moreNorway fund blacklists more coal groups over climate concernsBlack coal, thin pickings: China's miners face decline Coal demand shifting to Asia, IEA says |
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Thousands of mostly Tibetan pilgrims who travelled to India for a rare Buddhist ceremony held by the Dalai Lama have returned to China under pressure from Beijing, organisers said Wednesday.
The 81-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader will this month preside over the Kalachakra teachings at Bodhgaya in eastern India, where the Buddha is said to have attained enlightenment more than 2,000 years ... more Chinese official sentenced 10 years in vaccine scandal Football and prayer wheels: views of modern Tibet As thousands march China says Hong Kong must not subvert mainland |
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  Chinese tech giant Huawei is adding Amazon's artificial intelligence application Alexa to its flagship smartphone for its US launch.
The number three global smartphone brand, Huawei announced at this week's Consumer Electronics Show that its Mate 9 handset would include the personal digital assistant developed by Amazon.
The Mate 9, a large-screen "phablet" marketed as a rival to the big ... more Fractional calculus helps control systems hit their mark Fractional disturbance observers could help machines stay on track Smart tech: This year's CES big on artificial intelligence |
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Madrid on Thursday lifted an unprecedented ban on half of most private cars as pollution in the Spanish capital eased up.
A day earlier and for the first time in Spain, authorities decided to implement a measure already used in other cities abroad by ordering vehicles with even-number registration plates to drive on even-number days, and cars with odd-number plates on odd-number days.
Th ... moreObama criticized after monument designation Beijing starts 2017 under a cloudIn Spain first, Madrid bans half of cars to fight smog |
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  A huge forest fire has ravaged 50 hectares and destroyed homes in western Chile, prompting the authorities to issue a red alert on Monday.
At least one person was known to have been hurt after the fire broke out on a hill near the major port city of Valparaiso, the National Emergencies Office (ONEMI) said in a report.
The blaze has destroyed five homes and 50 hectares of woodland, ONEMI ... more Satellite photo reveals multiple fires burning in Argentina Hundreds flee wildfires near Jerusalem NASA Sets Space Fire in Second Round of Fire Safety Experiments |
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Teledyne SeaBotix has won a multimillion dollar U.S. Department of Defense contract for underwater remotely operated vehicles.
The observation-class vehicles are used by mobile explosive ordnance disposal units around the world.
Teledyne SeaBotix said the contract was obtained through Atlantic Diving Supply, a distributor, and calls for delivery of 60 new vLBV300 ROV systems as part of an opera ... more Study confirms steady warming of oceans for past 75 years Study reveals the importance of grazers for coral reefs Japan investigating dolphin escape in slaughter town |
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Scientists believe a warmer climate will deliver more extreme storms to California, like the one that dropped three inches of rain on San Francisco in just an hour in 2014, triggering flooding and mudslides.
According to new models developed by scientists at MIT, a rise in global temperature of 4 degrees Celsius will yield an extra three extreme precipitation events per year in Californ ... more Supercomputer simulations confirm observations of 2015 India/Pakistan heat waves Increasing tornado outbreaks - is climate change responsible? Hurricane kills 9 in Costa Rica |
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  China's manufacturing activity expanded at its quickest pace in nearly four years in December, an independent research firm said on Tuesday, in a sign of improving health for the world's second-largest economy.
The private Caixin Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), an indicator of conditions at smaller manufacturers, beat expectations with a reading of 51.9 in December, up from 50.9 the previo ... more Israel says China to send thousands of construction workers China's Alibaba sues vendors over selling counterfeits China manufacturing growth slows |
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The Space Science Institute was awarded a grant from the Moore Foundation that will provide 1.26 million solar viewing glasses and other resources for 1,500 public libraries across the nation. They will serve as centers for eclipse education and viewing for their communities.
The libraries will be selected through a registration process managed by the STAR Library Education Network (STAR_N ... more Preparing for the August 2017 Total Solar Eclipse Giving the Sun a brake Perspectives on magnetic reconnection |
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It has long been suspected that humans and the urban areas we create are having an important - and surprisingly current and ongoing - effect on evolution, which may have significant implications for the sustainability of global ecosystems.
A new multi-institution study led by the University of Washington that examines 1,600 global instances of phenotypic change - alterations to species' ob ... more Biologists use fossils to pinpoint when mammal and dinosaur ancestors became athletes Birds with big bills spend more time keeping warm Scientists train DNA nanotubes to self-assemble a bridge between molecules |
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