Samandag, Turkey (AFP) Feb 16, 2023 Dozens of arms frantically reach for heaters and blankets handed out by a private donor, illustrating the desperation and rage gripping swathes of Turkey 11 days after its disastrous quake. Many in the Syrian border region town of Samandag listened to their relatives and friends slowly die under the rubble as they waited for rescuers who came too late. … Continue reading ‘Abandoned’: Turkish town awaits help 11 days after quake

Antakya, Turkey (AFP) Feb 16, 2023 A Turkish volunteer runs down a pile of rubble, dragging a Syrian man with a bloodied face as anger builds and migrant tensions soar across quake-shattered regions. “He was stealing!” the volunteer screams, echoing looting charges levelled against migrants across the ruins of Antakya and other cities flattened by last week’s quake. The 7.8-magnitude tremor killed nearly 40,000 people … Continue reading Quake fallout inflames migrant tensions in Turkey disaster zone

Istanbul (AFP) Feb 17, 2023 Five Syrian children and their parents died on Friday in a fire that struck a Turkish home they moved to after surviving last week’s earthquake, local media reported. The Syrian family moved to the central region of Konya from the southeastern Turkish city of Nurdagi, which was badly hit by the February 6 temblor. The death toll from the 7.8-magnitude … Continue reading Syrian family of seven dies in fire after surviving quake

Paris (AFP) Feb 15, 2023 Many major global firms and financial institutions that directly or indirectly contribute to deforestation do not have any policies in place to protect forests, increasing the risk for catastrophic nature loss, a report said Wednesday. The report comes just months after countries reached a historic agreement to protect 30 percent of the world’s land and seas by 2030 at UN … Continue reading Major firms not doing enough to curb deforestation: report

Beijing (AFP) Feb 15, 2023 Several hundred retirees staged a protest in the central Chinese city of Wuhan on Wednesday, according to witnesses and images on social media, following local anger over reforms to the public health insurance system. Protests are rare in China, where authorities strictly enforce public order laws and opposition is quickly snuffed out. But expressions of public anger do sometimes emerge,http://dlvr.it/SjWF7M Continue reading Hundreds of retirees protest in China’s Wuhan

Agios Konstantinos, Greece (AFP) Feb 15, 2023 It was once the source of Athens’ fabulous golden-age wealth before its hillsides were blackened by fire after fire and scandalously torched by a foreign mining company. Now an ancient forest south of the Greek capital is finally to be revived having suffered catastrophe after catastrophe. In the fifth century BC, Lavrio was home to the silver mines … Continue reading New hope for forests of ancient Athens’ silver hills

Trzebinia, Poland (AFP) Feb 15, 2023 Two decades after the local coal mine closed, residents in a southern Polish town live in fear that the ground will collapse under their feet after 20 sinkholes appeared in the past two years. Five craters have emerged this year alone in pockmarked Trzebinia. Five months ago, a huge hole swallowed up tombs at the cemetery. “No one knows … Continue reading Sinkholes sow fear in former Polish mining town

Ottawa (AFP) Feb 15, 2023 The Canadian capital’s iconic Rideau Canal Skateway – the largest outdoor rink in the world and a UNESCO heritage site – may not open this winter for the first time in five decades, due to a lack of ice. Ottawa is in the grips of its third-warmest winter ever recorded, according to Environment Canada, with temperatures hovering just below freezing … Continue reading Too warm in Canada: world’s largest ice rink may not open

Boca Raton FL (SPX) Feb 15, 2023 About 40 percent of interior Alaska is underlain by ice-rich permafrost – permanently frozen grounds made up of soil, gravel and sand – bound together by ice. Certain conditions, such as climate warming, have intensified tundra wildfires which have profound implications for permafrost thaw. Surface vegetation plays a dominant role in protecting permafrost from summer warmth, so any … Continue reading New technique maps large-scale impacts of fire-induced permafrost thaw in Alaska

Space Coast FL (SPX) Feb 15, 2023 Maxar Technologies has signed a contract for dedicated access to Umbra’ Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery constellation, the companies announced February 14. SAR satellites are able to see past clouds, smoke, and complete darkness using the company’s advanced resolution, licensed down to 13 centimeters. “Maxar and Umbra are breaking new ground for the geospatial intelligence indhttp://dlvr.it/SjRRn5 Continue reading Umbra agrees to provide Maxar direct access to SAR Constellation