Baghdad (AFP) April 12, 2022 A dust storm blanketed Iraq again on Tuesday, sending people to hospital with breathing difficulties and leading airports to suspend flights. It follows a similar storm that blew over the country late last week and left dozens hospitalised with respiratory problems. The latest weather event cast an orange hue over the capital Baghdad, where it severely restricted visibility and coated … Continue reading Dust storm covers Iraq for second time in a week

New York NY (SPX) Apr 13, 2022 Renewable energy prices have fallen by more than 70 percent in the last decade, driving more Americans to abandon fossil fuels for greener, less-polluting energy sources. But as wind and solar power continue to make inroads, grid operators may have to plan for large swings in availability. The warning comes from Upmanu Lall, a professor at Columbia Engineering … Continue reading You’ve heard of water droughts – could ‘energy’ droughts be next

Shanghai (AFP) April 11, 2022 Shanghai eased restrictions on some neighbourhoods Monday after mounting outcry over inflexible Covid-19 rules that have locked down 25 million people, caused food shortages and left thousands in quarantine. Authorities said they would gradually begin to allow those in areas with the least number of virus cases to leave their communities, although it was unclear how many people will be … Continue reading Shanghai starts easing lockdown in some neighbourhoods

Boston MA (SPX) Apr 07, 2022 Robots are already adept at certain things, such as lifting objects that are too heavy or cumbersome for people to manage. Another application they’re well suited for is the precision assembly of items like watches that have large numbers of tiny parts – some so small they can barely be seen with the naked eye. “Much harder are tasks … Continue reading Robots dress humans without the full picture

Madrid, Spain (SPX) Apr 07, 2022 The flight model of the Scatterometer Antenna Subsystem (SAS) of the MetOp Second Generation meteorological satellites has been officially delivered after four months of extensive testing at the Airbus facility in Madrid. It will now be transferred to Airbus in Friedrichshafen (Germany) where it will be integrated into the satellite along with the other instruments. The SAS protoflight modhttp://dlvr.it/SNPsnt Continue reading MetOp-SG-B weather satellite: Scatterometer flies through tests

Manaus, Brazil (AFP) April 10, 2022 Proudly donning majestic feathered headdresses, models sing an ode to the rain while a makeup artist draws geometric patterns on their faces, arms and thighs in preparation for Brazil’s first-ever indigenous fashion show. “It is a feeling of happiness and pride,” 19-year-old model Moan Munduruku told AFP ahead of his turn on the catwalk in Manaus in the Brazilian … Continue reading Brazil’s first indigenous fashion show ‘a form of resistance’

Frankfurt (AFP) April 11, 2022 Germany’s family minister resigned Monday after coming under pressure for taking a summer vacation last year, shortly after the region where she was environment minister at the time suffered deadly flooding. Anne Spiegel said she had decided to step down “because of political pressure”. “I am doing this to avert damage to the office, which is facing great political challenges,” … Continue reading German minister quits over family vacation after floods

Copenhagen, Denmark (SPX) Apr 08, 2022 Large jumps within the last ice age between cold and warm climate periods in the Northern Hemisphere may have occurred because the climate system became unstable when atmospheric CO2 levels were between approximately 190 and 225 parts per million. That is the conclusion from a study, published in Nature Geoscience by Guido Vettoretti et al. at the Niels Bohr … Continue reading Study suggests abrupt climate change during the last ice age was controlled by CO2 levels

Rio De Janeiro (AFP) April 8, 2022 Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon set a new quarterly record in the first three months of 2022 compared to a year earlier, official data showed Friday. Satellite images revealed the destruction of 941 square kilometers (363 square miles) of rain forest – the highest quarterly rate since the start of Brazil’s Deter monitoring program in 2015. This is … Continue reading Record 1st-quarter deforestation in Brazilian Amazon

Beijing (AFP) April 9, 2022 China is battling its biggest spike in coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, with millions under lockdown and the healthcare system feeling the pressure. One of the last countries sticking to a zero-Covid strategy, China aims to stamp out every infection with strict lockdowns and by sending all cases to secure facilities. That is placing a strain on … Continue reading China’s health system faces raft of challenges as Omicron hits