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Australia ramps up aid to farmers as drought bites![]() Sydney (AFP) Aug 19, 2018 Financial aid for drought-stricken Australian farmers will be increased to Aus$1.8 billion (US$1.3 billion) as they endure the driest conditions in half a century, the prime minister said Sunday. Farmers in eastern states are struggling with extreme aridity that has turned green pastures into dust, with the economies of local towns also suffering. "I want to say to our farmers, we have your back. There is no set-and-forget," Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters in the New South Wales t ... read more |
China's rainbow trout gets a new name: 'salmon'Beijing (AFP) Aug 15, 2018 When Chinese state TV accidentally revealed much of the "salmon" sashimi eaten in the country was actually rainbow trout, domestic fish farmers faced a crisis of consumer confidence. ... more
Vietnam's caged bears dying off as bile prices plummetThai Nguyen, Vietnam (AFP) Aug 17, 2018 Two moon bears are gently removed from the cramped cages where they have been held for 13 years, rescuers carefully checking their rotten teeth and matted paws before sending them to their new home in a grassy sanctuary in northern Vietnam. ... more
The behavior of water: scientists find new properties of H2ONew York NY (SPX) Aug 16, 2018 A team of scientists has uncovered new molecular properties of water--a discovery of a phenomenon that had previously gone unnoticed. Liquid water is known to be an excellent transporter of it ... more
New research collection targets insect pests of pulse cropsAnnapolis MD (SPX) Aug 10, 2018 Around the world, pulse crops - such as beans, peas, chickpeas, and lentils - are an important staple in the modern food supply, and their cultivation is growing in the United States and many other ... 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 | Aug 17 | Aug 16 | Aug 15 | Aug 14 | Aug 13 |
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Investors shun Bayer stock over US pesticide rulingFrankfurt Am Main (AFP) Aug 13, 2018 Investors fled shares in German chemicals and pharmaceuticals giant Bayer Monday, fearing a massive damages ruling against one of newly-acquired US firm Monsanto's flagship products could signal a wave of costly lawsuits. ... more
Cultivated areas halve in Iraq as drought tightens gripBaghdad (AFP) Aug 4, 2018 Areas under cultivation in Iraq have halved this summer compared to last year due to a drought that has led to a ban on water intensive crops, the government said. ... more
Nine die of pesticide poisoning in PeruLima (AFP) Aug 7, 2018 Nine people in Peru died from eating contaminated food at a funeral, officials said Tuesday. ... more
US jury orders Monsanto to pay $290mn to cancer patient over weed killerSan Francisco (AFP) Aug 11, 2018 A California jury ordered chemical giant Monsanto to pay nearly $290 million Friday for failing to warn a dying groundskeeper that its weed killer Roundup might cause cancer. ... more
The American diet is unsustainable, study showsWashington (UPI) Aug 9, 2018 Too much food, not enough land - that's the American diet. ... more |
![]() Glyphosate under fire from San Francisco to Sri Lanka
Trump's trade beef with China may backfire on meatShanghai (AFP) Aug 12, 2018 A key objective of President Donald Trump's trade war is to pressure Beijing to "buy American", but when it comes to millions of dollars of US meat imports, China may simply take its business elsewhere. ... more |
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NASA finds Amazon drought leaves long legacy of damagePasadena CA (JPL) Aug 10, 2018 A single season of drought in the Amazon rainforest can reduce the forest's carbon dioxide absorption for years after the rains return, according to a new study published in the journal Nature. This ... more
Monsanto owners call weed killer 'safe' after jury orders big payoutBerlin (AFP) Aug 11, 2018 Monsanto's German owners insisted Saturday that the weed killer Roundup was "safe," rejecting a California jury's decision to order the chemical giant to pay nearly $290 million for failing to warn a dying groundskeeper that the product might cause cancer. ... more
Brazil wrestles with ban of controversial weed killerBras�lia (AFP) Aug 9, 2018 Brazil's government is contesting a court suspension of licenses for products with glyphosate, one of the most common industrial weedkillers and the subject of a high-profile US case against agrochemical colossus Monsanto. ... more
Jurors mull 'day of reckoning' in Roundup cancer trialSan Francisco (AFP) Aug 8, 2018 The lawyer for a California groundskeeper dying of cancer urged jurors Tuesday to make Monsanto pay hundreds of millions of dollars for failing to warn about the health risks of weed killer Roundup. ... more
Monsoon, landslides kill 20 in southern IndiaNew Delhi (AFP) Aug 9, 2018 At least 20 people were killed Thursday in landslides triggered by heavy rains in southern India, an official said, pushing the nationwide monsoon death toll for this year to over 700. ... more |
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First satellite to measure global winds set for launch Paris (AFP) Aug 19, 2018
A satellite designed to measure Earth's global wind patterns is set to be hoisted into orbit Tuesday from the Arianespace launch site in French Guiana.
The European Space Agency's (ESA) Aeolus mission - named for the guardian of wind in Greek mythology - promises to improve short-term weather forecasting and our understanding of manmade climate change.
"Meteorologists urgently need rel ... more |
Envistacom contracted for DAGRS GPS systems Washington (UPI) Aug 7, 2018
Envistacom has announced it has received a contract for the DAGRS handheld GPS navigation system that is used for many military purposes.
The contract, announced Tuesday by the company, is valued at up to $480 million over five years and covers both U.S. Army and Navy customers. The contract will include prototype design and other technical services to update the system.
The AN/P ... more |
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To improve children's diets, conserve forests Washington (UPI) Aug 17, 2018
According to new research, children who live closer to forests are more likely to eat healthier, more nutritious foods.
The findings are the latest to link forest conservation to human health. Several studies have linked proximity forests, trees and green space with positive human health and behavior outcomes.
"The data show that forests aren't just correlated with improvements i ... more |
Ethiopia opens plant to turn waste into energy Addis Ababa (AFP) Aug 19, 2018
Ethiopia on Sunday inaugurated a power plant which converts waste into energy, next to a filthy open-air dump in Addis Ababa where a landslide last year killed more than 110 people.
Named Reppie, the facility is the first of its kind in Africa, according to the government and the British company Cambridge Industries behind the project, and will turn 1,400 tons of waste per day into energy. ... more |
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Sanjeev Gupta to build 280MW solar farm in South Australia Adelaide, Australia (SPX) Aug 17, 2018
Details of a 280MW solar farm have been unveiled in South Australia as the first part of Sanjeev Gupta's global GFG Alliance US$1 billion, one-gigawatt dispatchable renewable energy program.
The Cultana Solar Project in South Australia's Upper Spencer Gulf will include 780,000 solar panels capable of generating 600GWh of energy generation per year, enough to power 96,000 homes while offset ... more |
Denmark gets nod for renewable energy support scheme Washington (UPI) Aug 17, 2018
Denmark, a holdout on Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas project, has consent to move forward with renewable energy strategies, the European Commission said.
The European Commission said Friday it approved of renewable energy schemes proposed by a Danish government looking to meet half of its energy needs from renewable resources by 2030 and make a complete break from fossil fuels by 2050.
... more |
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German insurer Munich Re to curb coal activities Frankfurt Am Main (AFP) Aug 6, 2018
German re-insurance giant Munich Re said Monday it would scale back investments in coal-related businesses and stop insuring new plants and mines extracting the fuel, to help the battle against climate change.
Chief executive Joachim Wenning, writing in the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper, said Munich Re will no longer invest in shares or bonds issued by companies that generate "more than 3 ... more |
No children? Pay a tax, Chinese academics suggest Beijing (AFP) Aug 17, 2018
Two Chinese academics have proposed a controversial idea to encourage childbirth as their country faces an ageing population: Make people with no or fewer than two children pay into a "maternity fund".
The suggestion sparked a furious social media debate in a country whose population has faced drastic family planning policies under the Communist Party, which enforced a one-child policy for d ... more |
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Robot wars: China shows off automated doctors, teachers and combat stars Beijing (AFP) Aug 19, 2018
Robots that can diagnose diseases, play badminton and wow audiences with their musical skills are among the machines China hopes could revolutionise its economy, with visitors to a Beijing exhibition offered a glimpse of an automated future.
The popular stars of this year's World Robot Conference, which ends Sunday, were undoubtedly the small, amateur-made "battle bots" which smashed, hammer ... more |
Tunisia anti-litter activist takes up 300-km, 30-beach challenge Nabeul, Tunisia (AFP) Aug 14, 2018 Bin bags at the ready, "long-distance activist" Mohamed Oussama Houij moves methodically along a beach in Tunisia's Mediterranean town of Nabeul, scooping up all kinds of trash as he goes along.
The 27-year-old sanitary engineer set out in July to walk a 300-kilometre (185-mile) stretch of coastline in northern Tunisia and clean up 30 beaches along the way.
He hopes the two-month trek wi ... more |
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Canada's westernmost province declares wildfires emergency Ottawa (AFP) Aug 15, 2018
British Columbia declared a province-wide state of emergency Wednesday as Canada's military joined firefighters in trying to douse 556 wildfires burning across the craggy region.
The province's public safety minister, Mike Farnworth, said the measure - which allows for officials to take "every action necessary" to protect the public - would be in effect for 14 days.
It is only the seco ... more |
DIY robots help marine biologists discover new deep-sea dwellers New York NY (SPX) Aug 10, 2018
While the cold and airless deep sea is inhabitable for humans, it is filled with delicate organisms that thrive in its harsh environment. Studying those organisms requires specialized equipment mounted on a remotely operated vehicle (ROV); any other type of equipment could literally crack under pressure.
A multidisciplinary group of engineers, marine biologists, and roboticists have develo ... more |
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Shanghai heat turns shopping street into giant slumber party Shanghai (AFP) Aug 9, 2018
As Shanghai swelters under a summer heat wave, it sometimes looks as if people are dropping dead from the torrid temperatures on the city's best-known shopping avenue.
Normally bustling Nanjing East Road has turned into an open-air slumber party on recent nights as local residents try to escape the heat of their cramped nearby homes by sleeping outside on benches or directly on the pavement. ... more |
China, US to resume trade talks in late August Beijing (AFP) Aug 16, 2018
China will send a senior negotiator to the United States in late August to resume trade talks, its commerce ministry said Thursday, the first public meeting on the dispute in weeks as the trade conflict intensifies.
Beijing and Washington have slapped tariffs on tens of billions of dollars worth of each other's goods since they held their last high-level meeting in June, raising fears that t ... more |
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Parker Solar Probe marks first mission milestones on voyage to Sun Laurel MD (SPX) Aug 20, 2018
Just two days after launch on Aug. 11, 2018, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, NASA's Parker Solar Probe achieved several planned milestones toward full commissioning and operations, announced mission controllers at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, or APL, in Laurel, Maryland.
On Aug. 13, the high-gain antenna, which Parker Solar Probe uses to communicate high- ... more |
Scientists confirm theory of Darwin's moth Washington (UPI) Aug 17, 2018
Scientists have confirmed Darwin's moth as a textbook example of the evolutionary phenomena known as industrial melanism. Researchers did so using image analysis and avian vision models, a first.
In the mid-19th century, famed evolutionary biologist Charles Darwin described the divergent forms of Britain's peppered moth, Biston betularia.
Darwin realized the moth's natural pale f ... more |
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