Washington (AFP) Jan 15, 2021 Ex-Michigan governor Rick Snyder is among a number of former state officials charged over the Flint water crisis, authorities said Thursday, the latest development in a years-long health scandal that has come to symbolize social injustice in the US. Prosecutors allege that Snyder willfully neglected his duty to protect residents of the decaying former industrial city that switched its drinkihttp://dlvr.it/RqcjxR Continue reading Ex-state governor charged in Flint water crisis

Greenbelt MD (SPX) Jan 15, 2021 By most accounts, 2020 has been a rough year for the planet. It was the warmest year on record, just barely exceeding the record set in 2016 by less than a tenth of a degree according to NASA’s analysis. Massive wildfires scorched Australia, Siberia, and the United States’ west coast – and many of the fires were still burning … Continue reading The climate events of 2020 show how excess heat is expressed on Earth

Geneva (AFP) Jan 14, 2021 The world is on course for a “catastrophic” temperature rise this century, the United Nations said Thursday as it confirmed that 2020 rivalled 2016 as the hottest year on record. The relentless pace of climate change is destroying lives, said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as the UN’s World Meteorological Organization said 2011-2020 had been the warmest decade recorded. 2020 “rivallehttp://dlvr.it/RqcjwZ Continue reading World facing ‘catastrophic’ warming: UN

Madrid (AFP) Jan 14, 2021 “We’re not animals but dogs live better than us,” sighs Lidia Arribas, who lives without electricity in a vast slum near Madrid where temperatures hit historic lows this week. Days after its heaviest snowfall in 50 years, Madrid woke on Tuesday to its lowest temperatures in decades, with the mercury plummeting to minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit). And … Continue reading Historic snowfall chills Madrid slum to the bones

Jakarta (AFP) Jan 13, 2021 Indonesian rescuers dug through mud Wednesday as they scrambled to find survivors from weekend landslides caused by torrential rains, as the death toll rose to 21 and 19 others were listed as missing. A landslide struck the village of Sumedang in West Java Saturday night, followed hours later by a second that engulfed rescuers digging for survivors. The death toll … Continue reading Indonesia landslide toll rises to 21 as rescuers search for missing

Hong Kong (AFP) Jan 14, 2021 Hong Kong’s national security police arrested 11 people in dawn raids on Thursday, including a veteran human rights lawyer, on suspicion of helping a group of activists make a failed bid to flee the city by speedboat. “Eleven people were arrested by the national security department for ‘conspiracy to assist offenders’,” a senior police source told AFP. The officer … Continue reading Hong Kong national security police make 11 new arrests

Paris (AFP) Jan 12, 2021 Available freshwater is on track to decline sharply across two-thirds of Earth’s land surface toward the end of the century mostly due to climate change, with the number of people exposed to extreme drought doubling, researchers have reported. Even under a scenario of moderate decline in greenhouse gas emissions, land area scorched by extreme to exceptional drought conditions increases fromhttp://dlvr.it/RqSvQJ Continue reading Global population hit by extreme drought set to double

Antananarivo (AFP) Jan 12, 2021 The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) appealed on Tuesday for emergency aid of $35 million to fight hunger in southern Madagascar, hit by the coronavirus pandemic and a third consecutive year of drought. “Some 1.35 million people are projected to be food insecure – 35 percent of the region’s population,” the WFP said in a statement. “With severe malnutrition rates … Continue reading UN seeks $35 million in emergency aid for Madagascar

Boston MA (SPX) Jan 11, 2021 Anyone who has ever hesitated in front of a trash bin knows the problem: It’s hard to determine what can be recycled. Consider the average potato chip bag. It’s got film plastic, metal, dyes, and food residue; it’s complicated. Today’s recycling doesn’t handle complexity well, so the typical chip bag is destined for the landfill. Landfills take up space, … Continue reading Turning trash into valuable chemical products and clean fuels

Madrid (AFP) Jan 11, 2021 Armed with picks and shovels, Madrid residents on Monday slowly shovelled out of Spain’s worst snowstorm in decades, which has turned roads and pavements into skating rinks. Officials asked people to stay at home if possible after Storm Filomena dumped 20-30 centimetres (7-8 inches) of snow on the capital between Friday and Saturday. Emergency services workers and soldiers freed 2,500 … Continue reading Madrid paralysed after heavy snowfall