Buenos Aires (AFP) Aug 31, 2021 Families of a giant rodent native to South America have been invading a luxury gated community in Argentina, highlighting the country’s controversial environmental and social policies. Nordelta is a 1,600 hectare (3,950 acre) luxury private urban complex built on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, on a wetland from the Parana river that is the capybara’s natural habitat. Many Nordelta … Continue reading In Argentina, giant rodents vie with the rich for top real estate

Paris (AFP) Aug 31, 2021 When the world’s leading conservation congress kicks off Friday in the French port city of Marseille it will aim to deliver one key message: protecting wildlife must not be seen as a noble gesture but an absolute necessity – for people and the planet. Loss of biodiversity, climate change, pollution, diseases spreading from the wild have become existential threats that … Continue reading Planet in peril: Global conservation congress urges wildlife protection

Jerusalem (AFP) Aug 31, 2021 As scientific warnings of dire climate change-induced drought grow, many in Israel and Jordan cast worried eyes at the river running between them and the critical but limited resources they share. This month the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change showed unequivocally that the climate is changing faster than previously feared, heaping pressure on finite water supplies even as demahttp://dlvr.it/S6fRl6 Continue reading Drought diplomacy helps boost Israel-Jordan ties

Frankfurt (AFP) Aug 30, 2021 An explosion that killed seven people at a hazardous waste site in Germany in July was likely caused by a chemical reaction inside a waste storage tank, local authorities said Monday, citing an interim report. The July 27 blast at the Chempark chemical complex in the western city of Leverkusen, which also injured 31 workers, was heard several kilometres away … Continue reading Chemical reaction likely to blame for deadly blast at German plant

Washington DC (UPI) Aug 30, 2021 Newly published maps have detailed the six major threats to terrestrial amphibians, birds and mammals, including agriculture, hunting and trapping, logging, pollution, invasive species and climate change. The maps, plotted using the latest biodiversity data and a novel modeling technique, have provided scientists insights into how different types of ecological threats are distributed achttp://dlvr.it/S6fRjq Continue reading New maps reveal major threats to terrestrial biodiversity

New Orleans (AFP) Aug 29, 2021 Chester Lastie clearly recalls Hurricane Katrina, which devastated his neighborhood in eastern New Orleans, 16 years ago to the day. The memories are made all the more vivid by the gusts of wind from Hurricane Ida currently battering his white house. “We were sitting in the yard about 11:00 when the levees broke” on August 29, 2005, he tells … Continue reading In New Orleans, Ida brings trauma of Katrina flooding back

Juba (AFP) Aug 29, 2021 South Sudan’s Vice President Riek Machar on Sunday rejected claims by a cabinet minister that he and former foe President Salva Kiir had struck a deal on uniting their armies, in the latest blow to its fragile peace process. The world’s newest nation has struggled with chronic instability since independence in 2011, with Kiir and Machar locked in an uneasy … Continue reading South Sudan VP says no deal agreed on uniting troops

Tripoli (AFP) Aug 26, 2021 The United Nations on Thursday welcomed the creation of a joint security force from rival sides in Libya to secure the country’s water network amid sabotage threats. “It is a very significant step forward towards the unification of the military institution and the country,” the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said in a statement. Earlier this month, the … Continue reading UN hails joint Libya force to protect water network

Copenhagen (AFP) Aug 28, 2021 Scientists have discovered what is believed to be the world’s northernmost landmass – a yet-to-be-named island north of Greenland that could soon be swallowed up by seawaters. Researchers came upon the landmass on an expedition in July, and initially thought they had reached Oodaaq, up until now the northernmost island on the planet. “We were informed that there had been … Continue reading Researchers discover world’s ‘northernmost’ island

Madrid (AFP) Aug 28, 2021 Tens of thousands of people formed a human chain around Spain’s crisis-hit Mar Menor lagoon on Saturday in a show of mourning after tonnes of dead fish washed ashore, organisers and officials said. One of Europe’s largest saltwater lagoons, the Mar Menor has long been a draw for tourists but is slowly dying as a result of agricultural pollution, with … Continue reading Thousands rally to ‘hug’ Spain’s dying Mar Menor lagoon