Honiara (AFP) April 14, 2024 Solomon Islanders will head to the polls this week, voting in an election that promises to bolster or blunt China’s regional ambitions, with security consequences that will ripple far beyond the Pacific nation’s palm-fringed shores. The archipelago, one of the world’s least-developed countries, is the unlikely focal point of a diplomatic scramble pitting a rising China against Western rivalshttp://dlvr.it/T5TtCL Continue reading Solomon Islands readies for election in shadow of China’s influence

Buenos Aires (AFP) April 13, 2024 Argentine President Javier Milei is ending his international trip early to handle his country’s response to the crisis in the Middle East, his spokesman said Saturday, after Iran launched a wave of drones and missiles at Israel. “The President is returning to Argentina to form a Crisis Committee due to the latest events in Israel, to take charge of … Continue reading Argentina’s Milei cuts short intl trip over Mideast crisis

Orenburg, Russia (AFP) April 13, 2024 Russian emergency services on Saturday said they had evacuated thousands of people from the southern regions bordering Kazakhstan as flood water continued to rise. Fast-rising temperatures have melted snow and ice, and along with heavy rain have caused a number of major rivers that pass through Russia and Kazakhstan to overflow this month. In the city of Orenburg, one … Continue reading Thousands flee flooding in southern Russia

Helsinki (AFP) April 11, 2024 The risk of a large Baltic Sea oil spill has risen since Russia began using a “shadow fleet” of tankers to circumvent curbs on its oil exports, Finland’s Border Guard warned Thursday. Experts say the so-called ghost fleet of tankers with opaque ownership or without proper insurance has allowed the Kremlin to keep exporting despite a Western-imposed embargo and oil … Continue reading Russian ‘shadow fleet’ ups risk of Baltic Sea spill: Finland

Los Angeles (AFP) April 12, 2024 Salmon fishing off the coast of California will be banned for a second consecutive year, authorities said Wednesday, citing lower fish stocks impacted by drought and wildfires. The heavy blow for the state’s salmon sector – which one industry group says supports 23,000 jobs – comes as salmon have struggled to successfully reproduce in low or warm waterways. It … Continue reading Salmon fishing off California’s coast banned for second year in a row

Barcelona (AFP) April 12, 2024 Scientists at a United Nations conference in Spain called Friday for more research into the sharp rise in ocean temperatures which they warn could have devastating consequences. “The changes are happening so fast that we are not able to keep pace with the impact,” the executive secretary of UNESCO’s intergovernmental oceanographic commission, Vidar Helgesen, told AFP on the sidelines of … Continue reading Scientists at Spain meeting sound alarm over ocean warming

Moscow (AFP) April 12, 2024 Flooding in the Russian city of Orenburg became “critical” Friday forcing “mass evacuations” as the Ural river level rises, the mayor said. Fast-rising temperatures have melted snow and ice, and along with heavy rains have caused a number of major rivers that cross Russia and Kazakhstan to overflow. “Sirens are sounding in the city. This is not an exercise,” Orenburg … Continue reading Mayor orders ‘mass evacuations’ in Russia flood city

Moscow (AFP) April 12, 2024 Russian Orthodox priests have flown over a swelling river in a Soviet-era plane with an icon, praying for unprecedented floods to recede. Rising rivers in Russia’s southern Urals and western Siberia, as well as Kazakhstan, have flooded towns and cities and forced thousands to evacuate. In the Kurgan region, priests boarded a small AN-2 plane with an icon of the … Continue reading Flying Russian priests pray for floods to end

Bamako (AFP) April 12, 2024 Mali’s ruling junta will only organise elections to hand back power to civilians once the security situation has been completely stabilised, the military-appointed prime minister has said. The West African nation has been ruled by juntas since back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, with the worsening security situation aggravated by armed jihadist and separatist groups. “The stabilisationhttp://dlvr.it/T5S6JQ Continue reading Mali PM says elections will only happen once stabilised

Bristol, UK (SPX) Apr 12, 2024 Recent research provides critical new perspectives on the historical evolution of oxygen, carbon, and other essential elements on Earth, potentially aiding in the evaluation of habitability on other planets. The study, published in Nature Geoscience, was spearheaded by University of Bristol scientists who demonstrated the significant role of carbon-rich rocks in boosting oxygen production and rehttp://dlvr.it/T5PfYx Continue reading New insights into Earth’s carbon cycle offer clues for habitability of other planets