Kathmandu (AFP) Feb 20, 2022 Nepal police fired rubber bullets and tear gas on Sunday as hundreds protested against a $500-million US grant going before parliament that has become a bone of contention between China and the United States. Nepal signed the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) pact in 2017 to fund infrastructure projects but its ratification has been in limbo because of divisions within political … Continue reading Nepal police fire tear gas as MPs debate US grant

Washington DC (SPX) Feb 21, 2022 NOAA’s GOES-T, the third in the GOES-R Series of advanced weather observing and environmental monitoring satellites, arrived in Florida on November 10, 2021, to begin final preparations for launch. GOES-T is scheduled to launch aboard an Atlas V 541 rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida on March 1, 2022, joining its sister … Continue reading NOAA’s GOES-T Satellite Road to Launch: Final Preparations

London (AFP) Feb 21, 2022 From jogging outfits to summer dresses, Lea Baecker has stitched together most of her wardrobe herself from inside her London flat, part of a burgeoning number of young amateur seamstresses. Like many others in the growing horde of sew-it-yourself enthusiasts, she has grown increasingly disillusioned with the retail clothing industry, viewing it as too destructive. “My main motivation wahttp://dlvr.it/SKN8r3 Continue reading Fast-fashion fallout: young people in UK spurred into sewing

Potsdam, Germany (SPX) Feb 21, 2022 Researchers led by Sergey Lobanov from the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences have developed a new method to measure the density of silicon dioxide (SiO2) glass, one of the most important materials in industry and geology, at pressures of up to 110 gigapascals, 1.1 million times higher than normal atmospheric pressure. Instead of employing highly focused X-rays at … Continue reading How to look thousands of kilometers deep into the Earth?

Paris (AFP) Feb 18, 2022 When marine researchers started recording sounds in the seagrass meadows of the Mediterranean Sea they picked up a mysterious sound, like the croak of a frog, that resounded within the dense foliage – and nowhere else. “We recorded over 30 seagrasses and it was always there and no-one knew the species that was producing this kwa! kwa! kwa!” said Lucia … Continue reading Mysteries and music: listening in to underwater life

Rome (AFP) Feb 19, 2022 Italy’s coastguard has spotted a “possible spill” from the still-burning ferry off the coast of Corfu, the environment ministry said on Saturday. The Italian-flagged Euroferry Olympia was carrying an estimated 800 cubic metres of fuel and 23 tons of “corrosive dangerous goods,” the ministry said in a statement. At least 12 people remain missing from the ferry, which caught fire … Continue reading Italy says ‘possible spill’ from burning ferry

Abidjan (AFP) Feb 18, 2022 Ivory Coast on Friday hailed a major reduction in the loss of forest cover as a “real success” after the massive spread of cocoa plantations over the last 50 years. The world’s largest cocoa supplier, accounting for more than 40 percent of global output, Ivory Coast boasted 16 million hectares under forest in the 1960s. Today forests cover only two … Continue reading Deforestation slows in cocoa king Ivory Coast

Hong Kong (AFP) Feb 18, 2022 Hong Kong’s foreign domestic workers are being “abandoned” in the current coronavirus wave sweeping the city, with some forced to sleep rough or being denied treatment after testing positive, charities warned Friday. The Chinese financial hub is currently in the throes of its worst-ever coronavirus outbreak, registering thousands of confirmed cases a day as hospitals reach breaking point.http://dlvr.it/SKKGbh Continue reading Hong Kong foreign domestic workers ‘abandoned’ in virus crisis

Port-Au-Prince (AFP) Feb 17, 2022 The international community pledged $600 million Wednesday to help rebuild Haiti’s devastated south, where an earthquake killed more than 2,200 people six months ago. “These contributions went well above our expectations,” said Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, after the conclusion of an international summit in Port-au-Prince. With a total estimated cost of $2 billion over four years thttp://dlvr.it/SKFss1 Continue reading $600 million pledged for Haiti earthquake relief

Ocampo, Mexico (AFP) Feb 17, 2022 In the fir forests of Mexico, one of the world’s most dangerous countries for environmentalists, the legacy of butterfly defender Homero Gomez lives on two years after his suspected murder. Despite the dangers of standing up to illegal loggers, fellow conservationists continue Gomez’s work guarding the El Rosario monarch butterfly sanctuary in Mexico’s central highlands. The agriculturalhttp://dlvr.it/SKFss0 Continue reading ‘I’ll kill you!’: Mexico’s nature defenders put lives on line