Paris (AFP) Sept 18, 2024 Almost 200 environmental activists were murdered last year, with the toll especially heavy in South America, according to rights group Global Witness. Here are the stories of three campaigners who have faced violence and repression trying to stop wildcat gold mining in Ecuador, illegal shrimp farming in Indonesia and a controversial oil project in Uganda. – ‘We have a responsibility’ … Continue reading Three activists risking their lives for the planet

Beijing (AFP) Sept 18, 2024 China’s decision to raise the retirement age will give a brief boost to its strained pension system but risks further discouraging weary young workers and cannot arrest long-term demographic decline, experts say. The ruling Communist Party last week announced a gradual increase in the statutory retirement age starting next year – rising from 60 to 63 for men, from 55 … Continue reading China piles extra work on weary youth to ease pension crisis

Washington (AFP) Sept 18, 2024 Russian operatives are ramping up disinformation operations to malign Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign by disseminating conspiracy-laden videos, Microsoft said Tuesday, amid heightened alert over foreign influence operations targeting the US election. The report comes after the US government accused Russia’s state news agency RT earlier this month of seeking to influence the presidenthttp://dlvr.it/TDNWDx Continue reading Russia intensifies disinformation ops against Harris campaign: Microsoft

Choco, Colombia (AFP) Sept 18, 2024 In 2016, a Colombian court sent a powerful statement on environmental protection by ruling that a crucial river in the northwestern Choco jungle, which was being decimated by illegal mining, had legal rights. The landmark decision, which came the same year the government inked an historic peace deal with the FARC guerrillas who controlled much of Choco, compelled the … Continue reading In Colombia, a river’s ‘rights’ swept away by mining and conflict

Papeete (AFP) Sept 18, 2024 A giant whale stole the show at the Summer Olympic Games, shooting out of the water as athletes competed in women’s surfing semi-finals on the French Pacific island of Tahiti last month. It is for spectacular scenes like this that many tourists travel each year to French Polynesia, one of the world’s prime destinations to go whale-watching and even swim … Continue reading In French Polynesia, boom in whale-based tourism sparks concern

Bangkok (AFP) Sept 17, 2024 A global network of doctors and laboratories is working to pinpoint emerging viral threats, including many driven by climate change, in a bid to head off the world’s next pandemic. The coalition of self-described “virus hunters” has uncovered everything from an unusual tick-borne disease in Thailand to a surprise outbreak in Colombia of an infection spread by midges. “The roster … Continue reading ‘Virus hunters’ track threats to head off next pandemic

Stockholm (AFP) Sept 17, 2024 Voter turnout is diminishing around the world and the results of elections are increasingly questioned, a report on the state of democracy said Tuesday. Between 2008 and 2023, global voter turnout fell by 10 percentage points, from 65.2 to 55.5 percent, according to an annual report by Stockholm-based intergovernmental organisation International IDEA. The problems that affect “young demohttp://dlvr.it/TDKqFk Continue reading Disputed elections becoming a global phenomenon: report

Vienna (AFP) Sept 16, 2024 Flooding sparked by Storm Boris in central Europe has burst dams, knocked out power and killed at least 18 people, authorities said on Monday, as more people were evacuated. High winds and unusually heavy rainfall have hit swathes of Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia since Friday. The rains have flooded streets and submerged entire neighbourhoods in … Continue reading Storm Boris lashes central Europe, toll climbs to 18

Shanghai (AFP) Sept 16, 2024 Tens of millions of people in Shanghai and across China’s densely populated east coast hunkered indoors Monday as the strongest typhoon to hit since 1949 swept in, downing trees and disrupting transport across the region. Typhoon Bebinca – the fiercest storm to hit the megacity since Gloria 75 years ago – landed early Monday morning in the eastern coastal area, … Continue reading Strongest typhoon to hit Shanghai since 1949 shuts down megacity

Opava, Czech Republic (AFP) Sept 15, 2024 The sun was shining and the sky was bright blue with just a few white clouds, but in downtown Opava in the Czech Republic, most people only talked about the weather with concerned frowns. Local people gathered on bridges and the embankment in the city centre to watch the eponymous Opava river gradually rise level with the banks, … Continue reading Czech city awaits the inevitable as floodwave looms