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China chili fest gets off to scorching start![]() Ningxiangpu, China (AFP) July 9, 2018 An annual chili pepper festival kicked off Monday in central China's spice-loving Hunan province with a chili-eating contest in which the winner set a blistering pace by downing a gut-busting 50 peppers in just over a minute. Local boy Tang Shuaihui took home a 3-gramme 24-karat gold coin for winning the competition, which is put on by a local theme park in the county of Ningxiang and now in its second year. With doctors on hand just in case, ten contestants each held plates heaped with 50 Tabas ... read more |
Expansion of agricultural land reduces CO2 absorptionKarlsruher, Germany (SPX) Jul 10, 2018 Climate change is heavily related to the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere. During photosynthesis, plants absorb some of the industrial CO2 emissions from the atmosphere, making them contribute sign ... more
As trial opens, man dying of cancer blames Monsanto's RoundupSan Francisco (AFP) July 9, 2018 A lawyer for a California groundskeeper dying of cancer took aim at Monsanto Monday as a jury began hearing the lawsuit accusing the chemical giant of ignoring the health risks of its top-selling weed killer Roundup. ... more
As trial opens, man dying of cancer blames Monsanto's RoundupSan Francisco (AFP) July 10, 2018 A lawyer for a California groundskeeper dying of cancer took aim at Monsanto Monday as a jury began hearing the lawsuit accusing the chemical giant of ignoring health risks of its top-selling weed killer Roundup. ... more
Taiwan issues warning as Typhoon Maria approachesTaipei (AFP) July 9, 2018 Ferries were suspended and farmers rushed for last-minute harvests Monday as Taiwan braced for Typhoon Maria, with warnings of possible mudslides and flooding as the storm nears. ... more |
Philippines digs out from Typhoon Fung-wong as death toll climbs
Philippines digs out from Typhoon Fung-wong as death toll climbs to 18 Three Vietnam men survive 40 hours at sea after typhoon Typhoon Fung-wong floods Philippine towns, leaves 5 dead in its wake Typhoon Fung-wong leaves flooded Philippine towns in its wake Typhoon exposes centuries-old shipwreck off Vietnam port Weakening Typhoon Fung-wong exits Philippines after displacing 1.4 million Super Typhoon Fung-wong makes landfall in Philippines Over 1 million evacuate as deadly Super Typhoon Fung-wong nears Philippines Dam reservoir levels drop below 3% in Iran's second city: media |
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| Previous Issues | Jul 10 | Jul 09 | Jul 07 | Jul 06 | Jul 05 |
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The tow-an-iceberg plan being floated to ease Cape Town droughtCape Town (AFP) July 3, 2018 It is a plan as crazy as the situation is desperate - towing an iceberg from Antarctica to Cape Town to supply fresh water to a city in the grip of drought. ... more
Ancestral people of Chaco Canyon likely grew their own foodCincinnati OH (SPX) Jul 04, 2018 Researchers think they have a better understanding for how ancient North Americans thrived for centuries in northwestern New Mexico's arid desert. A multidisciplinary team of experts from the ... more
Water compresses under a high gradient electric fieldUrbana IL (SPX) Jul 03, 2018 Modern civilization relies on water's incompressibility - it's something we take for granted. Hydraulic systems harness the virtual non-compressibility of fluids like water or oil to multiply mechan ... more
New water pollution protests hit southwest IranTehran (AFP) July 2, 2018 Protesters clashed with security forces in southwestern Iran late Sunday, a day after several demonstrators were injured in nighttime skirmishes over water pollution, Iranian state media reported. ... more
Utah soil's slippery grip on nutrientsSalt Lake City UT (SPX) Jul 03, 2018 Lawns in the Salt Lake Valley up to 100 years old are not yet saturated in the nutrient nitrogen, which is added by fertilizer, according to a new study from University of Utah researchers. The resu ... more |
![]() Mesopotamians were drinking beer from individual vessels 3,500 years ago
Latvia declares state of disaster over droughtRiga (AFP) June 26, 2018 Latvia's government on Tuesday declared a national state of disaster in its agricultural sector as a result of a prolonged drought that has affected most of the Baltic state and which some call the worst in decades. ... more |
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Early detection of 'olive tree leprosy' with dronesParis (AFP) June 25, 2018 A bacterial infection ravaging olive orchards in southern Europe can be detected from small planes or drones well before symptoms appear, offering panicky growers the prospect of an early warning system, scientists said Monday. ... more
US trial over Roundup cancer link set to openSan Francisco (AFP) June 28, 2018 A first of its kind trial over whether Monsanto herbicide Roundup caused a groundskeeper's lethal cancer is scheduled to begin here on July 9 with opening remarks by attorneys. ... more
Nestle suspended from 'sustainable' palm oil bodyGeneva (AFP) June 28, 2018 Swiss food giant Nestle confirmed Thursday the suspension of its membership in a body aimed at ensuring sustainable palm oil production and use, blaming "fundamental differences" in theories on how to reach that goal. ... more
China lifts ban on import of British beefLondon (AFP) June 27, 2018 China has lifted a ban on importing British beef lasting more than 20 years that was triggered by the "mad cow disease" outbreak, the UK government said on Wednesday. ... more
Industrial microbes could feed cattle, pigs and chicken with less damage to the environmentPotsdam, Germany (SPX) Jun 26, 2018 Deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, nitrogen pollution - today's agricultural feed cultivation for cattle, pigs and chicken comes with tremendous impacts for the environment ... more |
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Report accuses China firms over ozone-depleting gas Beijing (AFP) July 9, 2018
An environmental pressure group claimed Monday that Chinese factories are illegally using ozone-depleting CFCs, which have recently seen a spike in emissions that has baffled scientists.
The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) campaign group said 18 factories in 10 Chinese provinces they looked into admitted to using banned chlorofluorocarbons.
Producers and traders told EIA researc ... more |
CTSi flight tests prototype navigation system to replace GPS in highly contested environments for US Navy Patuxent River MD (SPX) Jul 11, 2018
CTSi and partner L3 Technologies completed flight-testing this month of a newly developed integrated communication and navigation system for use in highly contested and GPS-denied environments.
Designated the Enhanced Link Navigation System (ELNS), the prototype was built under a Navy $8.7M Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase III contract and flight tested at the St. Mary's Cou ... more |
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UN report urges nations to take better care of world's forests Washington (UPI) Jul 6, 2018
A United Nations agricultural report Friday urges world governments to better manage shrinking forests, end deforestation and restore those that have been degraded.
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization's State of the World's Forests report said in addition to shade, absorption of carbon dioxide, animal habitation and lumber, forests provide about 20 percent of rural household inco ... more |
New 'promiscuous' enzyme helps turn plant waste into sustainable products Portsmouth UK (SPX) Jul 03, 2018
A new family of enzymes has been discovered which paves the way to convert plant waste into sustainable and high-value products such as nylon, plastics, chemicals, and fuels.
The discovery was led by members of the same UK-US enzyme engineering team which, in April, improved a plastic-digesting enzyme, a potential breakthrough for the recycling of plastic waste.
The study published i ... more |
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New world record for direct solar water-splitting efficiency Berlin, Germany (SPX) Jul 11, 2018
Teams from the California Institute of Technology, the University of Cambridge, Technische Universitaet Ilmenau, and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE participated in the development work. One part of the experiments took place at the Institute for Solar Fuels in the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin.
Photovoltaics are a mainstay of renewable-energy supply systems, and sunlight ... more |
Clock starts for Germany's next wind farm Washington (UPI) Jul 5, 2018
German energy company E.ON said Thursday the start of turbine installation at the Arkona wind farm in the Baltic Sea sets the clock ticking for a 2019 launch.
The company said it started installing the first of the 60 turbines planned for the 385 megawatt facility in the German waters of the Baltic Sea. Once completed, Arkona will have enough power to meet the annual power demand of aro ... more |
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Miner Yancoal seeks dual listing in Hong Kong Sydney (AFP) July 2, 2018
Australia's largest pure-play coal producer Yancoal said on Monday it would apply for a dual listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange alongside a capital raising as it looks to increase its shares' liquidity.
China-based Yancoal trades on the Australian Securities Exchange and recently expanded its holdings of local mines by buying most of Rio Tinto's domestic coal assets for US$2.45 billion. ... more |
Chinese democracy activist sentenced to 13 years for 'subversion' Beijing (AFP) July 11, 2018
A prominent Chinese political campaigner was sentenced to 13 years in jail on Wednesday, a court in central China said.
Qin Yongmin was found "guilty of subversion of state power," the Wuhan City Intermediate People's Court said on its official website.
According to court records, it appears to be the heftiest sentence handed down in China for "subversion" in the past 15 years.
The ... more |
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MIT's Cheetah 3 robot avoids obstacles without the help of vision Washington (UPI) Jul 5, 2018
Cheetah 3, a robot designed by engineers at MIT, can run, jump and climb across complex terrain, avoiding obstacles along the way - all without the benefit of sight.
Researchers have dubbed the robot's technological abilities "blind locomotion."
Robots with similar maneuverability rely on cameras or some other kind of sensor to "see" the world, but Cheetah 3 is effectively blind ... more |
India's most populous state bans plastic, yet again New Delhi (AFP) July 6, 2018
India's most populous state Uttar Pradesh, home to 220 million people, announced Friday a ban on plastic cups and polythene use from July 15, in its third such attempt.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to make India free of single-use plastic by 2022, and the majority of India's 29 states have a full or partial ban.
However the law is rarely enforced, and Uttar Pradesh's previou ... more |
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Californian wildfires spreading rapidly San Francisco (AFP) July 3, 2018
A Californian wildfire that began on the weekend has rapidly spread across 70,000 acres (28,000 hectares), authorities said Tuesday, with a growing number of areas affected by mandatory evacuation orders.
The County Fire was sparked in the northern Yolo County on Saturday, fanned by high winds and hot temperatures.
An update by Cal Fire on Tuesday said the potential for growth remains h ... more |
China eyes Pacific summit as N.Z. warns of power vacuum Wellington (AFP) July 10, 2018 China is planning a summit of Pacific island leaders in November, Papua New Guinea has revealed, as New Zealand warned Tuesday Beijing was attempting to fill a "vacuum" in the long-neglected region.
President Xi Jinping wants to hold the meeting ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Port Moresby from November 12-18.
"(I) invite you to attend a Pacific Island lead ... more |
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Canada heat wave death toll hits 54: officials Montreal (AFP) July 6, 2018 The death toll in a week-long eastern Canadian heat wave has reached 54, officials said on Friday.
Most of the victims linked to the "overwhelming heat" were in the Montreal area, which recorded 28 fatalities, metropolitan health authorities told AFP in an email.
The other victims were reported in the southwest of the French-Canadian province, the Quebec health ministry said.
On Thur ... more |
Flood-postponed EU-Japan summit moved to Tokyo Brussels (AFP) July 9, 2018
Tokyo will now host an EU-Japan summit on July 17 to sign a free trade accord after the Japanese premier cancelled the talks in Brussels because of deadly floods at home, the European Commission said Monday.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called off the trip this week to Belgium and three other countries as the death toll from flooding and landslides caused by record rains hit 100.
T ... more |
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This Summer's Solar Eclipses from the Ends of the Earth Williamstown MA (SPX) Jul 09, 2018
Solar eclipses will occur at opposite ends of the Earth this summer, 2018. Both will be merely partial solar eclipses as seen from the Earth's surface, not as dramatic as last summer's total solar eclipse whose path of totality crossed the United States, with partial eclipses being seen from as far north as Canada and as far south as northern South America.
Prof. Jay Pasachoff, Chair of th ... more |
Frigid polar oceans, not balmy coral reefs, are species-formation hot spots Ann Arbor MI (SPX) Jul 10, 2018
Tropical oceans teem with the dazzle and flash of colorful reef fishes and contain far more species than the cold ocean waters found at high latitudes. This well-known "latitudinal diversity gradient" is one of the most famous patterns in biology, and scientists have puzzled over its causes for more than 200 years.
One frequently advanced explanation is that warm reef environments serve as ... more |
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