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Wildfires, drought hit Sweden's Sami reindeer herders![]() Stockholm (AFP) July 27, 2018 Sweden's unprecedented drought and devastating wildfires are destroying vital grazing pastureland for indigenous Sami reindeer herders, whose livelihoods are already under attack from mining and logging as global warming changes the face of the Arctic. "Our winter land is burning," says Jonas Kraik, a 54-year-old herder, whose Sami village with as many as 8,000 reindeer is a popular tourist destination in the central Swedish region of Jamtland. Jamtland is one of the areas worst hit by the wildf ... read more |
Murkowksi: Tariffs hurt more than just agricultureWashington DC (UPI) Jul 27, 2018 President Donald Trump has been called on by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, to take a broad view on trade policies to recognize that impacts extend beyond farming into the energy sector following his announcement of aid for U.S. farmers this week. ... more
Sri Lanka waives debt for 200,000 women in drought areasColombo (AFP) July 25, 2018 Sri Lanka announced Wednesday it would waive debts for 200,000 women unable to repay microfinance loans and cap lending rates after a number of borrowers in drought-hit areas killed themselves. ... more
EU court extends GMO rules to new techniquesLuxembourg (AFP) July 25, 2018 Plants and animals created by new techniques of genetic modification should be treated as Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and follow European rules aimed at preventing damage to the environment and health, the EU's top court said on Wednesday. ... more
China's persistent food and drug safety problemBeijing (AFP) July 24, 2018 Chinese authorities are scrambling to defuse public outrage over a safety scandal involving rabies vaccines, just one of a string of food and drug scares to hit the country in recent years. ... 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 26 | Jul 25 | Jul 24 | Jul 23 | Jul 20 |
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China's 'livestock revolution' demands 'new transition'London, UK (SPX) Jul 23, 2018 Demand for animal protein and increasing wealth fuelled a tripling in the domestic production of livestock in China between 1980 and 2010, and the rise, despite some improvements in efficiencies at ... more
Dying groundskeeper to testify in Roundup cancer trialSan Francisco (AFP) July 23, 2018 A California groundskeeper dying of cancer is slated to testify Monday before jurors hearing evidence in his lawsuit blaming Monsanto weed killer Roundup for his terminal illness. ... more
HRW urges Brazilian lawmakers to reject new pesticide lawSao Paulo (AFP) July 20, 2018 Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday called on Brazilian lawmakers to reject a proposed law to relax regulations on the use of pesticides as it published a report blaming powerful landowners for the poisoning of rural residents. ... more
Environmental changes in the Mekong Delta spell trouble for farmersUrbana IL (SPX) Jul 24, 2018 The Mekong Delta is home to 15 million people, many of whom rely on the delta's rich soil and water resources for farming and fishing. But their livelihoods are being threatened by rising sea levels ... more
Dying groundskeeper links Monsanto's Roundup to cancerSan Francisco (AFP) July 24, 2018 A California groundskeeper dying of cancer said Monday he would "never" have used Monsanto weed killer Roundup, had he known it could lead to his terminal illness. ... more |
![]() Cameroon's anglophone crisis hits palm oil, cocoa production
Taiwan steps in after China turns off tourist taps to PalauTaipei (AFP) July 19, 2018 Taiwan has stepped in to help its ally Palau attract more tourists after an airline from the Micronesian nation said it was forced to shut under pressure from China. ... more |
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Using 'shade balls' in reservoirs may use up more water than they saveLondon, UK (SPX) Jul 19, 2018 Preventing reservoir evaporation during droughts with floating balls may not help conserve water overall, due to the water needed to make the balls. During droughts, communities may rely on wa ... more
Researchers engineer bacteria to create fertilizer out of thin airSaint Louis MO (SPX) Jul 19, 2018 In the future, plants will be able to create their own fertilizer. Farmers will no longer need to buy and spread fertilizer for their crops, and increased food production will benefit billions of pe ... more
European heatwave brings drought, wildfiresLondon (AFP) July 20, 2018 Wildfires in the Arctic Circle, drought-stricken farmers and a spike in hospital treatment for sunburn: an unusually long heatwave this summer has northern Europe in its grip. ... more
Archaeologists discover bread that predates agriculture by 4,000 yearsCopenhagen, Denmark (SPX) Jul 19, 2018 At an archaeological site in northeastern Jordan, researchers have discovered the charred remains of a flatbread baked by hunter-gatherers 14,400 years ago. It is the oldest direct evidence of bread ... more
In India, swapping crops could save water and improve nutritionNew York NY (SPX) Jul 18, 2018 India will need to feed approximately 394 million more people by 2050, and that's going to be a significant challenge. Nutrient deficiencies are already widespread in India today - 30 percent or mor ... more |
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Preparing to fly the wind mission Aeolus Kourou, French Guiana (ESA) Jul 25, 2018
The launch of Aeolus - ESA's mission to map Earth's wind in real-time - is getting tantalisingly close, with the satellite due for lift-off on 21 August from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. With the wind in their sails, mission teams are busily preparing this unique satellite for its upcoming journey.
Aeolus will carry a sophisticated atmospheric laser Doppler instrument, dubb ... more |
Arianespace orbits four more Galileo satellites, as Ariane 5 logs its 99th mission Kourou, French Guiana (ESA) Jul 26, 2018
Arianespace has successfully launched four more satellites in the Galileo constellation. Liftoff was at 8:25 a.m. (local time) July 25, 2018 from the Guiana Space Center, Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
Today's launch was the 99th mission by the Ariane 5 heavy launcher. It was carried out on behalf of the European Commission as part of a contract with the European Space Agency ... more |
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Behold the Amazonian eco-warrior drag queen Sao Paulo (AFP) July 27, 2018
Bare chested, wearing an ankle-length dress, painted yellow, green and red, with flowers or leaves in his hair, it takes Brazil's Emerson Munduruku two hours to transform into Uyra Sodoma, his drag queen alter ego.
Whether carrying seeds, branches and other natural materials, Munduruku's creation Uyra, often submerged up to the waist in water, is a colourful extension of the earth and nature ... more |
Team shatters theoretical limit on bio-hydrogen production Lincoln NB (SPX) Jul 27, 2018
In 1977, researcher Rudolf Thauer proposed a theoretical ceiling on the amount of hydrogen that bacteria could produce via fermentation, the sugar-converting process also responsible for yogurt, beer and cheese.
Propelled by a genetic engineering technique that presents bacteria with a simple choice - adapt or die - research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln just punched through that ... more |
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NRL increases UAV endurance with Solar Soaring technology Washington DC (SPX) Jul 26, 2018
Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory are developing technology for unmanned aerial vehicles that has given them the ability to fly for more than 12 hours by harvesting energy from the atmosphere and the sun.
Solar-Soaring is a pair of endurance enhancer technologies. They aid the warfighter by enabling a UAV to fly longer without carrying extra weight in batteries.
"One ... more |
Searching for wind for the future Thuwal, Saudi Arabia (SPX) Jul 19, 2018
Using outputs from a high-resolution regional climate model, KAUST researchers have confirmed the potential for wind as a significant energy resource across the Arabian Peninsula. This is an important first step in developing a strategy for Saudi Arabia's wind energy sector.
As part of an ongoing collaboration with the University of Notre Dame in the United States, Marc Genton's research g ... 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 |
Tibet bans religious activities for students Beijing (AFP) July 24, 2018
Students in Tibet have been banned from taking part in religious activities over the summer holidays, Chinese state media reported Tuesday.
The ban will fall hard on Tibet's large Buddhist community, already under pressure as Chinese President Xi Jinping tightens controls over religious observance.
The school regulations apply to all "underage students" in Tibet, the state-run Global Tim ... more |
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Russia Mulls Sending Two of Its FEDOR Humanoid Robots Into Space Next Year Moscow (Sputnik) Jul 23, 2018
The ambitious FEDOR project has received a number of upgrades in recent years, with plans to make the robots self-learning and even to use them to create colonies on the moon and fly solo space missions in the early 2020s.
A source in the Russian space and rocketry industry has told Sputnik that a team of two FEDOR (Russian acronym Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research) robots m ... more |
China steps up controls on maritime emissions Washington (UPI) Jul 24, 2018
China's decision to regulate maritime fuels could have a significant impact on international efforts to lower emissions from shipping, analysis finds.
Following its so-called Blue Sky initiative, the Chinese Ministry of Transport announced extensions to emission control areas along the coastline. Yujiao Lei, a regional consultant for Wood Mackenzie, said in an emailed report the latest ... more |
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Local Winds Play Key Role in Some Megafires Pasadena CA (JPL) Jul 26, 2018
Although drought and overgrown forests are often blamed for major fires in the western United States, new research using unique NASA before-and-after data from a megafire site indicates that highly localized winds sometimes play a much larger role - creating large, destructive fires even when regional winds are weak.
The study was led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) ... more |
Slowdown of North Atlantic circulation rocked the climate of ancient northern Europe Helsinki, Finland (SPX) Jul 24, 2018
Major abrupt shifts occurred in the climate of ancient northern Europe, according to a new study from University of Helsinki, Finland. The research reports that sudden cold spells, lasting hundreds of years, took place in the middle of the warm Eemian climate period, about 120 thousand years ago.
These cold intervals saw a fall in temperature of a few degrees, and replacement of forests by ... more |
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'Unprecedented' Japan heatwave kills 65 in one week Tokyo (AFP) July 24, 2018 An "unprecedented" heatwave in Japan has killed at least 65 people in one week, government officials said Tuesday, with the weather agency now classifying the record-breaking weather as a "natural disaster."
In the week to Sunday at least 65 people died of heat stroke while 22,647 people were hospitalised, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said in a statement.
Both figures are "the ... more |
BRICS emerging economies meet as US trade war looms Johannesburg (AFP) July 25, 2018
Leaders of the BRICS emerging economies - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - will gather in Johannesburg on Wednesday for a three-day meeting focused on the threat of a US-led global trade war.
US President Donald Trump's hardening stance has compounded fears of an all-out trade war after he slapped levies on goods from China worth tens of billions of dollars and imposed tarif ... more |
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Red planet and 'blood moon' pair up to dazzle skygazers Paris (AFP) July 27, 2018 The longest "blood moon" eclipse this century will coincide with Mars' closest approach in 15 years on Friday to offer skygazers a thrilling astronomical double bill.
Viewers will need no protective eye gear to observe the spectacle - unlike when watching solar eclipse.
"All you have to do is... go outside!" the Royal Astronomical Society in London advises.
For about half the world, ... more |
2,700 scientists warn US-Mexico wall endangers wildlife Tampa (AFP) July 24, 2018
More than 1,000 species of animals would face serious threats to their survival if US President Donald Trump's proposed border wall with Mexico is built, scientists warned on Tuesday.
Iconic creatures such as the Peninsular Bighorn sheep, Mexican gray wolf and the Sonoran pronghorn antelope - all of which are already endangered - would see their populations dangerously fragmented by a wall ... more |
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