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Indonesia women face daily swim for clean water![]() Makassar, Indonesia (AFP) March 22, 2018 Indonesian villager Mama Hasria swims upstream with about 200 empty jerry cans tied to her back, a daily trip she and other local women make to get clean water for their community on Sulawesi island. As a scorching sun beats down, Hasria makes the four kilometre (2.5 mile), hour-long trip along the murky Mandar river to clean water wells built along the riverbank. There, the 46-year-old fills up her cans with clean water made drinkable by the surrounding soil which acts as a natural filter and p ... read more  | 
 
Absence of ants suggests first Saharan farming 10,000 years agoHuddersfield UK (SPX) Mar 21, 2018 By analysing a prehistoric site in the Libyan desert, a team of researchers from the universities of Huddersfield, Rome and Modena and Reggio Emilia has been able to establish that people in Saharan ... more  
World water problems on tap at Brazil conferenceBrasilia (AFP) March 17, 2018 Brazil - the country with the world's greatest fresh water reserves - hosts an international conference next week on growing fears over the fragility of drinking water supplies in a heating planet. ... more  
World's largest cities depend on evaporated water from surrounding landsFort Collins CO (SPX) Mar 21, 2018 Urbanization has taken billions of people from the rural countryside to urban centers, adding pressure to existing water resources. Many cities rely on renewable freshwater regularly refilled by pre ... more  
NZ dairy giant Fonterra posts loss on China writedown, CEO to goWellington (AFP) March 20, 2018 New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra slumped to a first-half loss Wednesday after massive write-downs on its China business, and announced long-time chief executive Theo Spierings' departure. ... more  | 
 
Jamaicans mobilize aid in aftermath of Melissa's wreckage 
Spain regional leader resigns, a year after deadly floods French warship delivers 40 tonnes of aid to hurricane-hit Jamaica Three killed, four missing in Nepal avalanche Tens of thousands shelter as typhoon slams into Philippines Thousands evacuated as typhoon bears down on Philippines CORRECTED: Thousands evacuated as typhoon bears down on Philippines Afghan govt says quake kills 20, injures over 500 Third quake in three months rattles Turkey's Sindirgi Spain regional leader resigns, year after deadly floods  | 
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| Previous Issues | Mar 21 | Mar 20 | Mar 19 | Mar 16 | Mar 15 | 
 
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Drought-stricken Cape Town counts the costCape Town (AFP) March 19, 2018 South African winemaker Marlize Jacobs looks out across the parched brown earth that sustains her award-winning vines, surveying the effects of the water crisis ravaging Cape Town and surrounding areas. ... more  
Dead Sea's revival with Red Sea canal edges closer to realityGhor Al-Haditha, Jordan (AFP) March 18, 2018 Israel and Jordan have long pursued a common goal to stop the Dead Sea from shrinking while slaking their shared thirst for drinking water with a pipeline from the Red Sea some 200 kilometres away. ... more  
US Supreme Court gives go ahead to Flint water lawsuitsWashington (AFP) March 19, 2018 The US Supreme Court on Monday gave the go ahead to two class-action lawsuits filed by residents of Flint, Michigan in response to a lead-contaminated water crisis. ... more  
Dead tress across Mongolian lava field offer clues to past droughtsTucson AZ (SPX) Mar 19, 2018 The extreme wet and dry periods Mongolia has experienced in the late 20th and early 21st centuries are rare but not unprecedented and future droughts may be no worse, according to an international r ... more  
Background radiation in UAE's agricultural topsoil found to be lower than global averageWashington DC (SPX) Mar 19, 2018 A team of researchers in the United Arab Emirates have revealed the presence of a significantly lower level of background radiation present in the nation's agricultural topsoil in comparison to the ... more  | 
![]() Harnessing the power of soil microbes for more sustainable farming  
Top bottled water brands contaminated with plastic particles: reportMiami (AFP) March 15, 2018 The world's leading brands of bottled water are contaminated with tiny plastic particles that are likely seeping in during the packaging process, according to a major study across nine countries published Wednesday. ... more  | 
 
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Two soldiers killed in Nigeria communal violence: armyKano, Nigeria (AFP) March 15, 2018 At least two soldiers were killed Wednesday in renewed violence between herders and farmers in central Nigeria's Plateau state days after similar violence killed 25 in unrest linked to land, water and grazing rights. ... more  
Malaysia's honey hunters defy angry bees to harvest treetop treasureUlu Muda, Malaysia (AFP) March 13, 2018 On a moonless night deep in the Malaysian rainforest, two men perched precariously on high branches use a smoking torch to draw thousands of bees from a treetop hive, braving the angry swarm to collect their prized honey. ... more  
Ag robot speeds data collection, analyses of crops as they growChampaign IL (SPX) Mar 14, 2018 A new lightweight, low-cost agricultural robot could transform data collection and field scouting for agronomists, seed companies and farmers. The TerraSentia crop phenotyping robot, developed ... more  
Scientists engineer crops to conserve water, resist droughtChampaign IL (SPX) Mar 08, 2018 Agriculture already monopolizes 90 percent of global freshwater - yet production still needs to dramatically increase to feed and fuel this century's growing population. For the first time, scientis ... more  
Agricultural sustainability project reached 21 million smallholder farmers across ChinaPhiladelphia PA (SPX) Mar 12, 2018 Smallholder farmers who cultivate perhaps only a few hectares of land dominate the agricultural landscape in places like China, India, and sub-Saharan Africa. Increasing their efficiency while reduc ... more  | 
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Diamonds from the deep: Study suggests water may exist in Earth's lower mantle Berkeley CA (SPX) Mar 20, 2018  
Water on Earth runs deep - very deep. The oceans have been measured to a maximum depth of 7 miles, though water is known to exist well below the oceans. Just how deep this hidden water reaches, and how much of it exists, are the subjects of ongoing research. 
Now a new study suggests that water may be more common than expected at extreme depths approaching 400 miles and possibly beyond - wi ... more | 
Indra Expands With Four New Stations The Ground Segment Managing Galileo Satellites Madrid, Spain (SPX) Mar 15, 2018  
Indra has been awarded a contract for implementing four new Uplink Stations (ULS), thus expanding the ground segment of the European global positioning system, Galileo. Awarded by the company Thales Alenia Space (France), this contract also includes maintenance and upgrades for all Uplink stations. 
The new stations will join the ten uplink stations that Indra has already put into service a ... more | 
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Invasive beetle threatens Japan's famed cherry blossoms Tokyo (AFP) March 22, 2018  
 Across Japan's capital, delicate pink and white cherry blossoms are emerging, but the famed blooms are facing a potentially mortal enemy, experts say: an invasive foreign beetle. 
The alien invader is aromia bungii, otherwise known as the red-necked longhorn beetle, which is native to China, Taiwan, the Korean peninsula and northern Vietnam. 
The beetles live inside cherry and plum trees,  ... more | 
Modified biomaterials self-assemble on temperature cues Durham NC (SPX) Mar 20, 2018  
Biomedical engineers from Duke University have demonstrated a new approach to making self-assembled biomaterials that relies on protein modifications and temperature. The hybrid approach allows researchers to control self-assembly more precisely, which may prove useful for a variety of biomedical applications from drug delivery to wound healing. 
The research appears online on March 19 in N ... more | 
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Saft deploys Intensium Mini for solar energy storage at industrial plant in Spain Paris, France (SPX) Mar 20, 2018  
Saft has installed two Li-ion energy storage systems to boost the operational efficiency of the existing solar PV plant at EXKAL's Marcilla manufacturing facility in Navarra, Northern Spain. 
The Saft Intensium Mini E systems provide peak shaving to reduce peak demand charges from the site's electricity supplier as well as increasing self-consumption of solar power. The result is that EXKAL ... more | 
BP sees onshore wind as the cheapest future source of electricity Washington (UPI) Mar 15, 2018  
 In a report on energy efficiency trends, British energy company BP said onshore wind could become the most economical source of electricity within 30 years. 
 A technology outlook for 2018 by the British supermajor finds coal is currently the largest source of global energy generation. There's enough on hand, the report read, to keep the grid satiated for more than a century based on curr ... more | 
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Michigan utility company to go zero coal Washington (UPI) Feb 20, 2018  
 Coal will no longer be used as an energy source for Michigan residents as more renewables come on stream in the decades ahead, a utility company said. 
 Public utility company Consumers Energy, which provides gas and electricity to about 60 percent of the state population, said it would no longer be using coal as a power source by 2040. By then, the company said it expects more than 40 pe ... more | 
China to reorganise propaganda efforts at home and abroad Beijing (AFP) March 21, 2018  
 China Wednesday announced a series of changes aimed at strengthening its global influence, including the creation of a centralised news service to better communicate the ruling Communist Party's message at home and abroad. 
The changes are part of a larger overhaul of government functions that will also see an increased role for the United Front Work Department, a shadowy organisation that ha ... more | 
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Tokyo Tech's six-legged robots get closer to nature Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Mar 13, 2018  
A study led by researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) has uncovered new ways of driving multi-legged robots by means of a two-level controller. The proposed controller uses a network of so-called non-linear oscillators that enables the generation of diverse gaits and postures, which are specified by only a few high-level parameters. The study inspires new research into how mul ... more | 
Researchers create a protein 'mat' that can soak up pollution Berkeley CA (SPX) Mar 21, 2018  
In a breakthrough that could lead to a new class of materials with functions found only in living systems, scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have figured out a way to keep certain proteins active outside of the cell. The researchers used this technology to create mats that can soak up and trap chemical pollution. 
Despite years of effort to stabilize proteins outside of  ... more | 
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Residents get first look at town devastated by Australia bushfire Sydney (AFP) March 20, 2018   Residents got their first look Tuesday at the devastation wrought by a bushfire that ravaged a town in Australia, but fears over asbestos and unstable structures mean even those with houses still standing cannot move back. 
Sixty-nine homes were incinerated in Tathra on the south coast of New South Wales, and another 39 damaged, after a blaze fanned by gusty winds and hot, dry conditions swep ... more | 
Indonesia women face daily swim for clean water Makassar, Indonesia (AFP) March 22, 2018  
 Indonesian villager Mama Hasria swims upstream with about 200 empty jerry cans tied to her back, a daily trip she and other local women make to get clean water for their community on Sulawesi island. 
As a scorching sun beats down, Hasria makes the four kilometre (2.5 mile), hour-long trip along the murky Mandar river to clean water wells built along the riverbank. 
There, the 46-year-old  ... more | 
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New data confirm increased frequency of extreme weather events Munich, Germany (SPX) Mar 22, 2018  
New data show that extreme weather events have become more frequent over the past 36 years, with a significant uptick in floods and other hydrological events compared even with five years ago, according to a new publication, "Extreme weather events in Europe: Preparing for climate change adaptation: an update on EASAC's 2013 study" by the European Academies' Science Advisory Council (EASAC), a b ... more | 
China urges US to not act emotionally; US trade groups say same and more Beijing (AFP) March 20, 2018   Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called on the United States Tuesday to not act "emotionally" and to avoid a trade war, as President Donald Trump considers new punitive measures against Beijing. 
After announcing tariffs on global steel and aluminium imports, Trump is now mulling new actions against China over its "theft" of US intellectual property. 
Washington has long accused Beijing of forci ... more | 
 
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New 3-D measurements improve understanding of geomagnetic storm hazards Washington DC (SPX) Mar 14, 2018  
Measurements of the three-dimensional structure of the earth, as opposed to the one-dimensional models typically used, can help scientists more accurately determine which areas of the United States are most vulnerable to blackouts during hazardous geomagnetic storms. 
Space weather events such as geomagnetic storms can disturb the earth's magnetic field, interfering with electric power grid ... more | 
Sudan, the world's last male northern white rhino, dies aged 45 Ol Pejeta, Kenya (AFP) March 20, 2018  
 Sudan, the last male northern white rhino, has died in Kenya at the age of 45, after becoming a symbol of efforts to save his subspecies from extinction, a fate that only science can now prevent. 
When Sudan was born in 1973 in the wild in Shambe, South Sudan, there were about 700 of his kind left in existence. 
At his death, there are only two females remaining alive and the hope is that  ... more | 
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