Dar Es Salaam (AFP) June 17, 2022 Tanzania has charged 20 Maasai protesters over the killing of a policeman during a demonstration against the government’s decision to cordon off land for wildlife protection, according to a chargesheet seen by AFP Friday. The clashes erupted last weekend in Loliondo in Ngorongoro district, where Maasai herders protested against the government’s push to reserve 1,500 square kilometres (580 … Continue reading Tanzania charges Maasai with murder over policeman death

Yangon (AFP) June 17, 2022 Myanmar’s ruling junta on Friday rejected criticism of its human rights record by the United Nations, accusing the organisation’s rights chief of “interference” in the country’s internal affairs. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday said Myanmar’s military government had likely committed “crimes against humanity” in its crackdown on dissent since seizing power ihttp://dlvr.it/SSSPZx Continue reading Myanmar junta rejects UN rights criticism as ‘unfounded’

Hong Kong (AFP) June 17, 2022 Hong Kong’s coronavirus case numbers are showing signs of rebounding, city chief executive Carrie Lam said on Friday, days after reintroducing more restrictions ahead of the 25th anniversary of the city’s transfer to Chinese rule. The finance hub this week saw daily cases go above 1,000 for the first time in two months – though hospitalisations have remained relatively … Continue reading Covid in Hong Kong shows ‘signs of rebound’, city leader says

Beijing (AFP) June 15, 2022 Alan Li no longer sees any future for his family in China after harsh Covid rules decimated his business, upended his son’s education and left his country out of step with the rest of the world. He has given up hope of a return to normal after months of lockdowns in Shanghai, and now plans to close his firm and … Continue reading China’s middle class looks to flee as Covid policies bite

Probolinggo, Indonesia (AFP) June 16, 2022 Thousands of Hindu worshippers climbed an active volcano in Indonesia on Thursday to throw offerings from crops to livestock down its smouldering crater in a centuries-old religious ceremony. Every year people from the Tengger tribe gather from villages in the highlands around Mount Bromo to trek to its peak to cast goats, chickens, fruit, flowers and vegetables into its … Continue reading Thousands flock to Indonesian volcano for Hindu ritual sacrifice

Sylhet, Bangladesh (AFP) June 17, 2022 Bangladesh has deployed troops to help two million people stranded by floods after relentless monsoon rains inundated huge swathes of territory for the second time in weeks, officials said Friday. Floods are a regular menace to millions of people in low-lying Bangladesh, but experts say climate change is increasing their frequency, ferocity and unpredictability. Much of the country’s norhttp://dlvr.it/SSMNw2 Continue reading Two million stranded as floods hit Bangladesh again

Paris (AFP) June 16, 2022 French officials urged caution Thursday as a record pre-summer heatwave spread across the country from Spain, where authorities were fighting forest fires on a sixth day of sweltering temperatures. The Meteo France weather service said it was the earliest hot spell ever to hit the country, worsening a drought caused by an unusually dry winter and spring, and raising the … Continue reading Record early heatwave sweeps France as fires flare in Spain

Gorongosa, Mozambique (AFP) June 14, 2022 From a distance, Mount Gorongosa looks pockmarked. The slopes of this Mozambican landmark were once covered with verdant rain forest. Now, they are scarred by deep holes – the result of clearcutting that exposed the soil and parched it, leaving only shrubs and grasses. But in recent years, the forest has been growing back, thanks to a previously foreign … Continue reading How coffee is saving a unique Mozambican forest

Los Angeles (AFP) June 14, 2022 Raging floods, devastating fires, powerful thunderstorms and a dangerous heat wave affecting a third of the population: the United States was being walloped Tuesday by climate-related catastrophes. A series of slow motion disasters is gripping the country as it enters summer, with warnings of misery for months to come in some areas. Around 120 million people were under some … Continue reading Floods, fires, heat waves: US struggles with climate catastrophes

Madrid (AFP) June 13, 2022 Spain was on Monday in the grips of a heatwave expected to reach “extreme” levels with France set to follow suit as meteorologists blame the unusually high seasonal temperatures on global warming. The “unusual” temperatures in the first-half of June come after Spain experienced its hottest May in at least 100 years, Ruben del Campo, spokesman for the Spanish Meteorological … Continue reading Heatwave grips Spain as France braces for soaring temperatures