Dubai (AFP) Aug 14, 2022 Large parts of the United Arab Emirates were hit by dust and sandstorms on Sunday as authorities urged caution on the roads and battened down for expected heavy rain. Homes and landmarks in major cities were caked in a fine layer of brown dirt and visibility plunged in the latest adverse weather following a series of choking dust storms around … Continue reading ‘Avoid driving’: dust alerts as storms return to UAE

Paris (AFP) Aug 12, 2022 Forced to start picking grapes much earlier than normal because of torrid temperatures, winemakers across France are worrying that grape quality will suffer from the climate-induced stress. The exceptionally dry conditions spread from the rugged hills of Herault along the Mediterranean, where picking is already underway, to the normally verdant Alsace in the northeast. Waves of extreme hhttp://dlvr.it/SWfwKV Continue reading Premature harvests latest test for French winemakers

Washington (AFP) Aug 10, 2022 US President Joe Biden on Wednesday signed into law a bill boosting benefits for veterans exposed to toxic fumes, a cause close to his own heart after his son died of brain cancer. Burn pits, lit up with jet fuel, were commonly used to dispose of waste in military camps during the years of the US wars in Afghanistan and … Continue reading Biden signs bill aiding veterans exposed to toxins

Kyiv, Ukraine (AFP) Aug 9, 2022 Two more cargo ships carrying grain left Ukraine Tuesday, Kyiv said, under a deal with Russia to ease agricultural exports from Ukrainian ports that had been blocked by the war. “Two ships left the port of Chornomorsk carrying a total of 70,000 tons of agricultural products,” the infrastructure ministry said in a statement on social media. It said that … Continue reading Two more grain shipments leave Ukrain

Beijing (AFP) Aug 11, 2022 When Zuo tested positive for Covid-19 while working as a cleaner in one of Shanghai’s largest quarantine centres, she hoped it wouldn’t be long before she could pick up the mop and start earning again. But four months on, she is still fighting to get her job back – one of scores of recovering Covid patients facing what labour rights … Continue reading China’s ex-Covid patients live under ‘dark shadow’ of stigma

Beijing (AFP) Aug 11, 2022 Dozens of people in China have fallen ill with a new virus that is also found in shrews, a report has said, but there is so far no evidence of human-to-human transmission. The infections were found in China’s eastern Shandong and central Henan provinces, affecting 35 people, according to a report in the New England Journal of Medicine this month. … Continue reading Dozens in China infected with Langya virus; Chinese medical portal censored over herbal remedy doubt

Bordeaux (AFP) Aug 11, 2022 French officials warned Thursday that flare-ups could cause a massive wildfire to further spread in the country’s parched southwest, where fresh blazes have already blackened swathes of land this week. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne will meet with authorities battling the Landiras blaze south of Bordeaux, and further reinforcements are expected for the 1,100 firefighters on site, the prefechttp://dlvr.it/SWRxj9 Continue reading New wildfire outbreaks feared as blazes rage in France

Paris (AFP) Aug 8, 2022 Scientists on Monday welcomed the passing of US President Joe Biden’s “historic” climate bill while calling for other major emitters – namely the European Union – to follow suit and implement ambitious plans to slash emissions. The bill, which would see an unprecedented $370 billion invested in cutting US emissions 40 percent by 2030, should provide a launchpad for green … Continue reading After ‘historic’ US climate bill, scientists urge global action

Phnom Penh (AFP) Aug 7, 2022 Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen on Sunday cancelled a controversial satellite-city development around a wildlife sanctuary and zoo near the capital following growing online appeals to halt the project. Conservationists and locals began voicing their concerns and objections when the development plan around the Phnom Tamao zoo and wildlife rescue centre came to light several months ago. Dhttp://dlvr.it/SWMLM4 Continue reading Cambodian PM scraps development project threatening wildlife sanctuary

Mexico City (AFP) Aug 8, 2022 Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday called on brewers to reduce beer production in drought-hit areas in the north of the country, a major exporter of the beverage. “That’s not to say that we’ll no longer produce beer. I mean, beer won’t be produced in the north,” Lopez Obrador told reporters, although he stopped short of ordering … Continue reading Mexico wants to reduce beer production in drought-hit areas