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Study: Global farming trends threaten food security![]() Halle, Germany (SPX) Jul 13, 2019 Citrus fruits, coffee and avocados: The food on our tables has become more diverse in recent decades. However, global agriculture does not reflect this trend. Monocultures are increasing worldwide, taking up more land than ever. At the same time, many of the crops being grown rely on pollination by insects and other animals. This puts food security at increased risk, as a team of researchers with help from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) writes in the journal Global Change Biology. ... read more |
Water express delivers emergency supplies to drought-hit Indian cityChennai, India (AFP) July 12, 2019 A special 50-wagon train carrying 2.5 million litres of water arrived in the Indian city of Chennai Friday, as the southern hub reels under one of its worst shortages in decades. ... more
Indonesia president vows to fight EU palm oil rulesJakarta (AFP) July 12, 2019 Indonesia's president promised Friday to fight the European Union over plans to restrict the use of palm oil in biofuels. ... more
China fails to buy agricultural goods as promised: TrumpWashington (AFP) July 11, 2019 US President Donald Trump on Thursday accused China of backsliding on promises to increase purchases of American farm exports. ... more
Managing Freshwater Across the United StatesGreenbelt 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 r ... 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 |
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| Previous Issues | Jul 12 | Jul 11 | Jul 10 | Jul 09 | Jul 08 |
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Insecticides that threaten bees also harm damselflies, study findsWashington (UPI) Jul 5, 2019 New research suggests damselflies are being harmed by thiacloprid, a common neonicotinoid insecticide used by farmers to kill aphids and whiteflies. ... more
Lesotho farmers protest against Chinese wool dealMaseru, 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. ... 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 |
![]() Cooler for parts of Europe, Spain battles wildfires
More Manila water shortages ahead as reservoir feeding city driesBulacan, Philippines (AFP) July 1, 2019 Fishermen now pick their catch from the shallow, muddy slosh of the depleted reservoir which feeds the Philippine capital, as drought once again leaves Manila residents with up to 17-hour-a-day water shortages. ... more |
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France casts doubt on giant Mercosur trade dealParis (AFP) July 2, 2019 France said Tuesday it was "not ready" to ratify a huge trade deal agreed by the European Union and four South American countries, as farmers and environmentalists step up their resistance to the accord. ... more
The Water Future of Earth's 'Third Pole'Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jun 27, 2019 Himalaya. Karakoram. Hindu Kush. The names of Asia's high mountain ranges conjure up adventure to those living far away, but for more than a billion people, these are the names of their most reliabl ... more
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 |
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Animal observation system ICARUS is switched on Konstanz, Germany (SPX) Jul 09, 2019
The International Cooperation for Animal Research Using Space (ICARUS) is a cooperative project between the Russian space agency Roscosmos and the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) under the leadership of Martin Wikelski from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Konstanz.
With the space-based observation system, scientists want to find out m ... more |
Second Lockheed Martin-Built GPS III Satellite Ready for July 25 Liftoff TITusville FL (SPX) Jul 09, 2019
The GPS satellite constellation is about to get its next heathy dose of new technology and more advanced capabilities. The second next-generation, Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT)-built GPS III satellite - nick-named "Magellan" by the U.S. Air Force - is sealed up and ready for its planned July 25 launch.
On June 26, Lockheed Martin Space and United Launch Alliance (ULA) technicians completed en ... more |
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Gabon's timber industry reeling after corruption scandal Libreville (AFP) July 7, 2019
Tropical timber is piling up at Gabon's main port as the country's logging industry reels from a corruption scandal that brought down the vice president and ushered in a veteran environmentalist to oversee its forestry.
Wood is big money in the central African nation, which is almost 80 percent covered by forests. The timber industry accounts for 17,000 jobs and 60 percent of non-oil related ... 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 |
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Organic solar cells will last 10 years in space Moscow, Russia (SPX) Jul 11, 2019
Scientists from the Skoltech Center for Energy Science and Technology, the Institute for Problems of Chemical Physics of RAS, and the Department of Chemistry of MSU presented solar cells based on conjugated polymers and fullerene derivatives, that demonstrated record-high radiation stability and withstand gamma radiation of >6,000 Gy raising hopes for their stable operation on the near-earth orb ... more |
Stanford study shows how to improve production at wind farms Stanford CA (SPX) Jul 10, 2019
Solitary wind turbines produce the most power when pointing directly into the wind. But when tightly packed lines of turbines face the wind on wind farms, wakes from upstream generators can interfere with those downstream. Like a speedboat slowed by choppy water from a boat in front, the wake from a wind turbine reduces the output of those behind it.
Pointing turbines slightly away from on ... more |
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Indian tycoon Adani rejects Australian mine criticism New Delhi (AFP) July 9, 2019
Indian billionaire Gautam Adani rejected criticism over the environmental impact of a huge coal mine planned by his company in Australia, saying renewables can't meet all his country's energy needs.
Conservationists have condemned the Adani plan, saying it will contribute to global warming, threaten local vulnerable species, and impact the already-damaged Great Barrier Reef.
Adani aims t ... more |
China activist arrested for 'promoting terrorism' Beijing (AFP) July 10, 2019
A Chinese anti-corruption activist who had urged officials to disclose their wealth was arrested for allegedly "promoting terrorism", as Beijing clamps down on Communist Party critics.
Zhang Baocheng, 60, was a member of the now-defunct New Citizens Movement, which campaigned for democracy and government transparency.
It is unusual in China for members of civil society or human rights ac ... more |
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Robot-ants that can jump, communicate with each other and work together Lausanne, Switzerland (SPX) Jul 11, 2019
Individually, ants have only so much strength and intelligence. However, as a colony, they can use complex strategies to complete sophisticated tasks and evade larger predators.
At EPFL, robotics researchers in Professor Jamie Paik's Laboratory have reproduced this phenomenon, developing tiny robots that display minimal physical intelligence on an individual level but that are able to comm ... more |
Cruise ship in Venice near-miss just weeks after dock incident Rome (AFP) July 8, 2019
A giant cruise ship very narrowly missed a yacht while being towed out of Venice late Sunday, just a month after a collision there renewed the controversy over the giant vessels.
The 12-deck Costa Deliziosa, which is nearly 300 metres (1,000 feet) long and carries more than 3,800 passengers and crew, was being towed out in stormy conditions when the near-miss happened.
A video posted by ... more |
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Through smoke and fire, NASA searches for answers Edwards AFB CA (SPX) Jul 13, 2019
NASA satellites reveal a world marked by fire: a global patchwork of flame and smoke driven by the seasons and people. Summer wildfires rage across the western United States and Canada, Australia and Europe. In early spring, agricultural fires blanket the breadbasket regions of Southeast Asia as they do throughout the dry season in central and southern Africa and Brazil.
For years, NASA ha ... more |
Hundreds of sharks snarled by plastic in the world's oceans, scientists warn Washington (UPI) Jul 5, 2019
New research suggest previous studies have underestimated the number of sharks and rays entangled in plastic. The problem is likely much worse than scientists realized.
Researchers at the University of Exeter scanned the scientific literature, as well as Twitter, for reports of sharks and rays found tangled in plastic debris. The research team uncovered evidence of 1,000 entangled indiv ... more |
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Fierce storm kills seven in Greek tourist peninsula Thessaloniki, Greece (AFP) July 11, 2019 Seven people died and at least 23 were injured as a fierce storm ripped through beachfronts in one of Greece's top tourist areas, terrifying thousands of holidaymakers caught in the open, authorities said Thursday.
Six tourists including two children were killed - two each from the Czech Republic, Russia and Romania - in the northern peninsula of Halkidiki, near Greece's second city Thessa ... more |
China says US trade issues are 'definitely' resolvable Beijing (AFP) July 11, 2019
China said Thursday that the thorny trade issues plaguing relations with the United States are resolvable after fractious talks between the economic giants were kickstarted by the Trump-Xi meeting in Japan.
Washington and Beijing have hit each other with punitive tariffs covering more than $360 billion in two-way trade, damaging manufacturers on both sides of the Pacific.
US President Do ... more |
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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 |
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