Paris (AFP) March 17, 2023 Will you choose beauty? The carnivorous Wavy Bubble Snail, perhaps, with its billowing skirts shimmering under UV light. Or will it be age? Like the venerable 500-year-old Methuselah oyster. Or will you be seduced by the leopard slug with its gymnastic mating ritual? The list of finalists for Mollusc of the Year has something for everyone. In a public vote … Continue reading Their time to slime: who will be ‘Mollusc of the Year’?

Paris (AFP) March 15, 2023 Global corporations are not adapting fast enough to safeguard the environment or their own businesses from global warming and looming climate regulations, according to a report released Wednesday. Most companies are failing to provide a full picture of their carbon footprints and environmental impacts, slowing progress toward a net zero economy and exposing themselves to climate risk.http://dlvr.it/SkzyL1 Continue reading Corporate transparency on emissions falls short: report

Doha (AFP) March 15, 2023 China and Russia are bolstering their presence in Africa to tap its rich natural resources, analysts say, amid grave warnings from UN agencies the world’s poorest countries face accumulating crippling debts. “One out of every three major infrastructure projects in Africa is built by Chinese state-owned enterprises, and one out of every five is financed by a Chinese policy bank,” … Continue reading Africa pays the price as China and Russia muscle in

Antakya, Turkey (AFP) March 16, 2023 As they left Antakya, Turkey’s earthquake-shattered home of ancient civilisations, its anguished residents scribbled farewell messages on the ruins: “We’ll come back” and “Don’t lose hope.” Last month’s deadly 7.8-magnitude quake and its aftershocks came down hard on Antakya – a fabled city near Syria once known as Antioch – ravaging centuries of treasured history. Now, its residentshttp://dlvr.it/SkzyKv Continue reading Fabled Antakya fears losing ‘soul’ in Turkish quake ruins

Kratie, Cambodia (AFP) March 15, 2023 Bulging grey heads break the turbid waters of the Mekong River in Cambodia as a pod of rare Irrawaddy dolphins surfaces to breathe, drawing excited murmurs from tourists watching from nearby boats. The thrilling sight may soon be no more than a memory, as numbers of the endangered mammals dwindle despite efforts to preserve them. Cambodia has announced tough … Continue reading The battle to save Cambodia’s river dolphins from extinction

New York (AFP) March 15, 2023 A Chinese tycoon wanted in China and closely tied to president Donald Trump’s former political advisor Steve Bannon was arrested in New York Wednesday and charged with bilking some $1 billion from supporters of his anti-Beijing activities. The US Justice Department accused Guo Wengui and still-at-large British co-conspirator Je Kin Ming of stealing funds from participants in an investment … Continue reading US arrests Chinese tycoon who backed Trump advisor Bannon

Paris, France (SPX) Mar 13, 2023 Ecosystem Restoration Standard (ERS) has launched a next-generation standard to certify restoration projects on the Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCMs). The standard assesses and monitors the impact of restoration projects on climate, biodiversity, and local livelihoods. After an extensive pilot phase, ERS has secured 5M europ in seed funding from top-tier investors to support the developmenthttp://dlvr.it/SkwNvk Continue reading ERS Raises 5M Euro to develop high-integrity standard for voluntary carbon markets

Herndon VA (SPX) Mar 08, 2023 BlackSky Technology Inc. (NYSE: BKSY) won a $150+ million competitive contract to provide advanced space-based tactical GEOINT-as-a-service to an international ministry of defense customer. “BlackSky is taking real-time, space-based tactical GEOINT to the next level with industry-leading rapid revisit capabilities and fully automated low-latency delivery of AI-derived mission intelligence,http://dlvr.it/SkwNtF Continue reading BlackSky wins $150M competitive bid for Space-Based Tactical GEOINT solution

Kapeni, Malawi (AFP) March 14, 2023 Wet clothes hang from the windows of a school in Kapeni, a district of Malawi’s commercial city of Blantyre, where hundreds of people have sought shelter from deadly Cyclone Freddy. Packing powerful winds and rain, the cyclone’s return triggered floods and mudslides that washed away homes and buried their inhabitants Mayeso Chinthenga, 14, said he was out fetching for … Continue reading No beds, little food await Malawi Cyclone survivors

Blantyre, Malawi (AFP) March 14, 2023 The death toll from Cyclone Freddy in Malawi and Mozambique passed 200 on Tuesday after the record-breaking storm triggered floods and landslips in its second strike on Africa in less than three weeks. Rescue workers warned that more victims were likely as they scoured destroyed neighbourhoods for survivors even as hopes dwindled. The fierce storm delivered its second punch … Continue reading Cyclone toll passes 200 in Malawi, Mozambique as hopes for survivors fade