Rio De Janeiro (AFP) Oct 17, 2023 An estimated 10 percent of the dolphins in a picturesque lake in the Brazilian Amazon were killed in a week as a record drought and searing temperatures devastate the region, researchers said Tuesday. Emergency teams found 153 dolphins dead in the last week of September in Lake Tefe, where water temperatures reached 39.1 degrees Celsius, more than seven … Continue reading 10% of dolphins killed as Amazon drought hits lake: study

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Oct 16, 2023 With the rise of brain-interface technology and artificial intelligence that can imitate brain functions, understanding the nature of consciousness and how it interacts with reality is not just an age-old philosophical question but also a salient challenge for humanity. Can AI become conscious, and how would we know? Should we incorporate human or animal cells, such as neurons, into … Continue reading Unifying matter, energy and consciousness

Luxembourg (AFP) Oct 16, 2023 The EU on Monday presented plans to curb pollution caused by microplastic leaks from pellets used extensively by industry, by introducing tougher rules for companies that use the tiny material. The microscopic pellets, called nurdles, are the building blocks for most of the world’s plastic production, from car bumpers to salad bowls. The legislation from the European Commission, the EU’shttp://dlvr.it/SxYVZZ Continue reading EU unveils plan to halt microplastics pollution via pellets

Washington DC (UPI) Oct 15, 2023 The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza will be reopened, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday amid anticipation of an Israeli ground invasion of the Palestinian enclave where fears of a catastrophic humanitarian crisis grow. The border crossing is essentially the only exit for Palestinians from Gaza and the only entrance for humanitarian supplies, but it … Continue reading Egypt-Gaza border crossing to reopen as aid waits to enter enclave

Bangkok (AFP) Oct 17, 2023 Five people were killed in floods in Thailand’s north this week, with authorities warning on Tuesday that more heavy rain was on the way. Since the beginning of the monsoon season in September, a total of 23 Thai citizens have died in floods and 33 have been injured, the public health ministry said in a statement. Earlier this week, floods … Continue reading Five killed in Thai floods with more heavy rain expected

Goma, Dr Congo (AFP) Oct 16, 2023 Foreign armies, militias and private military contractors are active in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where clashes with M23 rebels have recently erupted after a months-long lull. Tens of thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes in a country with more than six million already displaced. The government of the central African nation is now … Continue reading DR Congo: foreign armies, militias, private military contractors

Geneva (AFP) Oct 16, 2023 Switzerland’s general election on October 22 is set to see the populist right make gains due to European migration concerns and shatter Green dreams of getting into government. The Swiss are voting for both houses of parliament, with all 200 seats in the lower chamber and all 46 in the upper house up for grabs. At the last election in … Continue reading Immigration, climate, cost of living swing Swiss elections

Brussels (AFP) Oct 13, 2023 The EU failed Friday to agree extending the use of glyphosate – a weedkiller the WHO fears could be carcinogenic – because of division among the bloc’s 27 member countries, a European Commission spokesman said. “No sufficient majority” was reached in a vote on whether to renew glyphosate use for another 10 years, and the matter would now be kicked … Continue reading EU fails to decide on glyphosate use extension

Herat, Afghanistan (AFP) Oct 15, 2023 A magnitude 6.3 earthquake killed two people in western Afghanistan Sunday, with damaged prisons evacuated and residents fleeing a region where tremors have claimed at least 1,000 lives this past week. Since October 7, a series of potent quakes have jolted Herat province, levelling whole villages, burying families and leaving thousands homeless as winter approaches. In rural Injil distrihttp://dlvr.it/SxVtHN Continue reading Afghans flee western region after fresh earthquake kills two

N’Djamena (AFP) Oct 13, 2023 Chad says its army will escort French troops ordered out of neighbouring Niger by the post-coup regime as they travel through the country back to France. The French army faces repatriating its equipment mostly overland through Chad and then Cameroon – a distance of more than 3,000 kilometres (around 1,860 miles) some of which is known to harbour jihadist groups. … Continue reading Chad agrees transit for France’s Niger troop withdrawal