Alty, Sudan (AFP) Nov 9, 2022 The pharaohs worshipped it as a god, the eternal bringer of life. But the clock is ticking on the Nile. Human-driven climate change, pollution and exploitation are putting existential pressure on the world’s second-longest river, which half a billion people depend on for survival. All along its 6,500-kilometre (4,000-mile) length, alarm bells are ringing. From Egypt to Uganda, AFP … Continue reading Nile is in mortal danger, from its source to the sea

Copenhagen (AFP) Nov 8, 2022 If nothing is done, heatwaves could lead to the deaths of 90,000 Europeans each year by the end of the century, the European Environment Agency said. “Without adaptation measures, and under a scenario of 3 degrees Celsius global warming by 2100, 90,000 Europeans could die from extreme heat annually,” it said. “With 1.5 degrees C global warming, this is reduced … Continue reading Heatwaves could kill 90,000 Europeans per year by 2100: EEA

Resistencia, Argentina (AFP) Nov 8, 2022 Dwarfed by its more prestigious sibling, the Amazon, South America’s second largest forest is a little-known victim of 25 years of gradual invasion by agriculture. The Gran Chaco indigenous forest that spans one million square kilometers (386,000 square miles) across Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia is at the mercy of ravenous soybean and sunflower crops, as well as pasture land. … Continue reading Colonists nibble at Gran Chaco, South America’s other big forest

Washington DC (UPI) Oct 20, 2021 Scientists say fossils found in Russian caves are from the first known Neanderthal family – a father-daughter pair and other close relatives who lived as a clan. The remains were found in two sites – Chagyrskaya and Okladnikov caves – in the Altai Mountains of southern Siberia, according to research published in the journal Nature. The researchers said Neanderthal … Continue reading First known Neanderthal family clan fossils discovered in Siberian caves

Kampala (AFP) Oct 22, 2022 A Ugandan court has sentenced an ivory trafficker to life in prison in a landmark ruling hailed by the country’s wildlife authority. International trade in ivory has been banned since 1989 under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Despite this, the hunger for ivory persists and is one of the main reasons … Continue reading Ugandan ivory trafficker gets life term in landmark ruling

Hanoi (AFP) Oct 21, 2022 A “new wave of repression” in Vietnam is jeopardising progress in tackling climate change, human rights groups told UN chief Antonio Guterres Friday as he began a visit to Hanoi. Vietnam, which has an economy heavily reliant on coal, has committed to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. But its authoritarian government has also handed down prison terms to four … Continue reading Vietnam’s ‘wave of repression’ threatens climate goals: rights groups

Washington (AFP) Oct 21, 2022 France’s foreign minister voiced alarm Friday over a massive US climate spending package, saying it risked unfair competition, but said Europe did not want a green trade war. Parts of President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which will pump $370 billion into green energy, “from our point of view impact the level playing field between the US and European actors,” … Continue reading France concerned by US climate bill but doesn’t want ‘war’

Hong Kong (AFP) Oct 21, 2022 Foreign participants at a high-profile financial summit in Hong Kong next month would be able to skip isolation and leave via “appropriate flight arrangements” if they catch Covid, a top health official said Friday. The comments followed media reports that attendees – expected to include top executives from some of the world’s most powerful financial institutions – would be … Continue reading Covid-hit HK banking summit attendees allowed to fly out; Govt broke law scrapping exemptions

Hokkaido, Japan (SPX) Oct 21, 2022 lScientists have uncovered new details of how ice forming below the ocean surface in Antarctica provides cold dense water that sinks to the seabed in an important aspect of global water circulation. The results, published in the journal Science Advances, come from a team at the Hokkaido University’s Institute of Low Temperature Science, its Arctic Research Center, and the … Continue reading Deeper understanding of the icy depths

Pasadena CA (JPL) Oct 21, 2022 The international SWOT mission will view Earth’s ocean and surface water on land with unprecedented clarity. The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite arrived at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, where teams will begin final preparations for the spacecraft’s launch in December on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Center-4 East. SWOT is the first … Continue reading Satellite to study Earth’s water arrives at launch site