|
|
Lesotho farmers protest against Chinese wool deal![]() Maseru, Lesotho (AFP) June 28, 2019 Several thousand farmers in the mountain kingdom of Lesotho marched to parliament on Friday to protest against regulations forcing them to sell their wool and mohair to a Chinese broker. Wool and mohair are key exports for farmers in Lesotho, but the government of the small southern Africa nation signed a monopoly deal last year with a Chinese broker who is accused of failing to pay for goods. The protest won the support of some members of Prime Minister Thomas Thabane's All Basotho Convention p ... read more |
Haute couture turns back on fur, both real and fakeParis (AFP) July 3, 2019 Something rather significant was missing from the Paris haute couture shows which wrapped up on Wednesday night - fur. ... more
China says pork production recovering as swine fever cases declineBeijing (AFP) July 4, 2019 New cases of African swine fever have declined and pork production is returning to normal, Chinese officials said Thursday, after millions of pigs were culled because of the deadly disease. ... more
Lithuania declares emergency as drought hits farmersVilnius (AFP) July 3, 2019 Lithuania declared an emergency on Wednesday as a severe drought hit the Baltic EU state, threatening to slash this year's harvest by up to half. ... more
Monsoon rains soak India's financial capitalMumbai (AFP) July 1, 2019 Heavy rains flooded parts of India's financial capital of Mumbai on Monday, as the country's four-month summer monsoon swung into full force. ... more |
IMF approves $206 mn aid to Sri Lanka after Cyclone Ditwah
Flights cancelled, roads flooded as rare storm soaks UAE Sri Lanka plans $1.6 bn in cyclone recovery spending in 2026 Brazil megacity Sao Paulo struck by fresh water crisis Indonesians reeling from flood devastation plea for global help Levee break near Seattle prompts evacuation order Flash flood kills dozens in Morocco town At least 20 dead in eastern Bolivia floods Press Release from Business Wire: Textron Inc. Flash floods kill 37 in Moroccan coastal town |
|
|

| Previous Issues | Jul 04 | Jul 03 | Jul 02 | Jul 01 | Jun 28 |
|
Health warnings and speed limits as Europe bakes in heatwaveParis (AFP) June 25, 2019 As Europe sizzled Tuesday at the start of a heatwave tipped to break records, drivers on Germany's famously speedy motorways were ordered to slow down and fans at the women's World Cup were showered in health warnings. ... more
Dry lakebeds and fights for water as drought grips India's Chennai, India (AFP) June 22, 2019 Angry residents fight in queues at water taps, lakes have been turned into barren moonscapes and restaurants are cutting back on meals as the worst drought in living memory grips India's Chennai. ... more
Bordeaux winemakers cheer heatwave: 'It's magic!'Bordeaux (AFP) June 26, 2019 The heatwave that is roasting parts of Europe is more than welcome in the French region of Bordeaux, where wine producers say a sudden intense burst of sun after a wet spring could produce a superior vintage. ... more
Canada, China diplomatic row provokes farm troublesSaint-Thomas, Canada (AFP) June 27, 2019 Quebec hog farmer Serge Menard is worried about the future of his herd and his farm in the wake of China's ban on Canadian meat exports - the latest screw to turn in an escalating diplomatic row. ... more
Looking for freshwater in all the snowy placesGreenbelt MD (SPX) Jun 21, 2019 Snowflakes that cover mountains or linger under tree canopies are a vital freshwater resource for over a billion people around the world. To help determine how much freshwater is stored in snow, a t ... more |
![]() Scientists map huge undersea fresh-water aquifer off US Northeast
Qu Dongyu becomes first Chinese to head UN food agency FAORome (AFP) June 23, 2019 Qu Dongyu on Sunday became the first Chinese national to be elected to head the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, clinching the post in the first round of voting. ... more |
|
Rare wolf killed in Bangladesh after first appearance in decadesDhaka (AFP) June 16, 2019 The first Indian grey wolf to be seen in Bangladesh in eight decades has been beaten to death by farmers after preying on their livestock, wildlife experts said Sunday. ... more
Fearful of elephant attacks, some in Botswana cheer hunting's returnKasane, Botswana (AFP) June 20, 2019 An elephant carcass lies at the edge of a field in Legotlhwana village, northeast Botswana - evidence of the desperation and anger felt by a farmer whose crops have been repeatedly destroyed. ... more
Earth's freshwater future: extremes of flood and droughtGreenbelt MD (SPX) Jun 17, 2019 NASA satellites are a prominent tool for accounting for water, as it constantly cycles from water vapor to rain and snow falling onto soils, and across and beneath the landscape. As Earth's atmosphe ... more
9,000 years ago, a community with modern urban problemsColumbus OH (SPX) Jun 18, 2019 Some 9,000 years ago, residents of one of the world's first large farming communities were also among the first humans to experience some of the perils of modern urban living. Scientists study ... more
US prosecutor drops charges, starts over in criminal probe of tainted waterChicago (AFP) June 14, 2019 US prosecutors have dropped all charges connected to lead contamination of drinking water in Flint, Michigan and pledged to start the criminal probe over from scratch after expressing concerns over how it has been handled by predecessors. ... more |
|
|
|
|
SSTL expertise enables new space mission for the FORMOSAT-7 weather constellation Guildford UK (SPX) Jul 01, 2019
The successful launch on 24 June 2019 (EST) of 6 satellites for the FORMOSAT-7 joint US-Taiwanese weather forecasting constellation marks the start of another SSTL-enabled space mission, a cause for celebration at SSTL's UK HQ.
The launch on the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Centre was attended by SSTL staff including Managing Director, Sarah Parker who said "We are ver ... more |
NASA Eyes GPS at the Moon for Artemis Missions Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jul 01, 2019
GPS, a satellite-based navigation system used by an estimated four billion people worldwide to figure out where they are on Earth at any moment, could be used to pilot in and around lunar orbit during future Artemis missions.
A team at NASA is developing a special receiver that would be able to pick up location signals provided by the 24 to 32 operational Global Positioning System satellit ... more |
|
|
Reforestation could cut carbon levels by two-thirds, study says Washington (AFP) July 4, 2019 Good news: we can help halt climate change through a massive campaign of reforestation, according to a new study published Thursday.
Bad news: it would require covering an area the size of the United States in new trees, and even then some scientists are skeptical about the paper's conclusions.
Such an effort could capture two-thirds of manmade carbon emissions and reduce overall levels ... more |
Applying pressure is way toward generating more electricity from waste heat Osaka, Japan (SPX) Jul 01, 2019
Researchers at Osaka University have been able to enhance the power factor of a promising thermoelectric material by more than 100% by varying the pressure, paving the way for new materials with improved thermoelectric properties. Thermoelectric materials have the unique ability to generate electricity from temperature differences and therefore could potentially be used to convert otherwise wast ... more |
|
|
Researchers create multi-junction solar cells from off-the-shelf components Raleigh NC (SPX) Jul 01, 2019
Multi-junction solar cells are both the most efficient type of solar cell on the market today and the most expensive type of solar cell to produce. In a proof-of-concept paper, researchers from North Carolina State University detail a new approach for creating multi-junction solar cells using off-the-shelf components, resulting in lower cost, high-efficiency solar cells for use in multiple appli ... more |
Windmill protesters placed on Dutch terror list The Hague (AFP) June 24, 2019
Dutch counter-terror officials on Monday highlighted "extremist" wind turbine protesters alongside Islamists and the far right in the country's latest terrorism threat report.
At least two companies building new wind turbines in the Netherlands have cancelled construction projects "out of fear of attacks and have lost millions" of euros in damage, the NCTV counter-terrorism agency said.
... more |
|
|
Three miners dead after tremor in Poland Warsaw (AFP) July 1, 2019
Three miners died and six others were hospitalised on Monday after a tremor hit their coal mine in southern Poland, according to the operator PGG.
"We received the sad news that a third miner is also dead. Rescuers are currently working on bringing the bodies to the surface," PGG spokesman Tomasz Glogowski told the TVN24 commercial news channel.
The nine men were boring a walkway more th ... more |
'Hong Kong is not China': Protests pose major test for Xi Beijing (AFP) July 2, 2019 Chinese President Xi Jinping faces a major test in Hong Kong after protesters stormed the semi-autonomous city's legislature and graffitied a defiant message on its walls: "Hong Kong is not China".
Beijing has trod carefully since massive protests erupted last month over a bill that would allow extraditions to the mainland, voicing support for the Hong Kong government without directly interv ... more |
|
|
Safe, low-cost, modular, self-programming robots Munich, Germany (SPX) Jul 01, 2019
Many work processes would be almost unthinkable today without robots. But robots operating in manufacturing facilities have often posed risks to workers because they are not responsive enough to their surroundings. To make it easier for people and robots to work in close proximity in the future, Prof. Matthias Althoff of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has developed a new system: IMPROV ... more |
Indonesia to return 49 containers of waste to Europe, US Jakarta (AFP) July 2, 2019
Dozens of shipping containers full of waste will be returned to France and other developed countries, Indonesia said Tuesday, as Southeast Asian nations increasingly reject serving as dumping grounds for international trash.
The 49 containers were loaded with a combination of garbage, plastic waste and hazardous materials in violation of import rules, according to customs officials on Batam ... more |
|
|
Cooler for parts of Europe, Spain battles wildfires Paris (AFP) June 30, 2019 A welcome temperature drop came to western parts of Europe on Sunday, after almost a week-long heatwave, but hundreds of Spanish firefighters and soldiers continued to battle three major blazes.
France too had to contend with fire in the south of the country - and some farmers there counted the cost of the heatwave to their grape vines.
In Germany there was no respite, with a record hig ... more |
Managing Freshwater Across the United States Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jul 05, 2019
The varied landscapes of the United States have unique relationships with water. On the East Coast, rain is a regular occurrence. In the West, drought is a constant threat. Rivers and lakes fed by rainfall, snowmelt or a mix of both provide two-thirds of the country's drinking water while also supporting agriculture.
Managing these water resources requires balancing growing demand for wate ... more |
|
|
Last month hottest June on record: EU satellite agency Paris (AFP) July 2, 2019
Last month was the hottest June ever recorded with soaring temperatures worldwide capped off by a record-breaking heatwave across Western Europe, satellite data showed Tuesday.
Global readings taken by the EU-ran Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S) showed European temperatures were around 2C hotter than normal, and globally Earth was 0.1C hotter than the previous June record.
The hea ... more |
Berlin allotment holders dig in against property developers Berlin (AFP) June 28, 2019
Birds tweet and shears snip as one of Berlin's many urban gardeners tends her city centre allotment, but behind the tranquil scene a battle is raging over the real estate.
"Schrebergaerten", or allotments, offer city dwellers a chance to grow plants and vegetables in small, private gardens and provide a green-leafed retreat from the hustle and bustle of inner-city life.
Berlin has 71,000 ... more |
|
|
Details of Solar Science Mission Revealed at UK Astronomy Meeting London, UK (SPX) Jul 05, 2019
Named after a Celtic goddess of the Sun, SULIS is a UK-led solar science mission, designed to answer fundamental questions about the physics of solar storms. The mission consists of a cluster of small satellites and will carefully monitor solar storms using state-of-the-art UK technology, as well as demonstrating new technologies in space. Lead Investigator on the project, Dr. Eamon Scullion of ... more |
When spiders leave the nest, they turn aggressive Washington (UPI) Jul 2, 2019
Spiders who exhibit sociability and tolerance when they're first born often become aggressive when they leave the nest and plot out on their own. Now, scientists are beginning to understand why.
Most spiders are solitary creatures and, like other solitary animals, solo spiders tend to behave aggressively toward other spiders. But most spiders aren't born aggressive. Spiderlings spend th ... more |
|
| Buy Advertising | Media Advertising Kit | Editorial & Other Enquiries | Privacy statement |
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2018 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement |