Dakar (AFP) Oct 15, 2023 Malian foreign minister Abdoulaye Diop said this weekend the withdrawal of United Nations peacekeepers from northern Mali would happen on time by December 31, despite UN concerns. The UN said on Saturday it was worried its drawdown could be hampered by an escalation of fighting in the north – where rival armed groups are seeking to seize territory as the … Continue reading Mali’s junta says departure of UN troops will not be delayed

Kano, Nigeria (AFP) Oct 13, 2023 Nigerian military jets have carried out air strikes on a gathering of bandit militias, killing around 100 gunmen in the country’s northwest, two army sources with knowledge of the operation and local residents said. Nigeria’s air force confirmed it had carried out bombardments in northwestern Zamfara State on Tuesday, but a spokesman said he could not yet provide details … Continue reading Nigeria air strikes kill around ‘100 bandit fighters’

Exeter UK (SPX) Oct 16, 2023 Tens of thousands of endangered sharks and rays are caught by small-scale fisheries off the Republic of the Congo each year, new research shows. Scientists surveyed fish brought ashore at Songolo, which is home to more than 60% of the country’s “artisanal” fishers (small boats, small engines, hand-hauled lines and nets). In three years, the team – led by … Continue reading Tens of thousands of endangered sharks and rays caught off Congo

Pittsburgh PA (SPX) Oct 16, 2023 With its low quantities of rain and soaring high temperatures, the Sahara Desert is often regarded as one of the most extreme and least habitable environments on Earth. While the Sahara was periodically much greener in the distant past, an ancient society living in a climate very similar to today’s found a way to harvest water in the seemingly … Continue reading How an ancient society in the Sahara Desert rose and fell with groundwater

Zhuhai, China (SPX) Oct 16, 2023 The ocean has always been a force to be reckoned with when it comes to understanding and traversing its seemingly limitless blue waters. Past innovations such as deep-sea submersibles and ocean-observing satellites have helped illuminate some wonders of the ocean though many questions still remain. These questions are closer to being answered thanks to the development of the Intelligent … Continue reading Unmanned and unbothered: autonomous intelligent oceanic exploration is upon us

Richland WA (SPX) Oct 16, 2023 Less pollution settling into snow should help cut the decline of snowpack in the Northern Hemisphere later this century. Though the snowpack will still diminish due to rising temperatures, the outlook is less dire when the cleaner snow of the future is considered. In some scenarios, the researchers predict that the reduction in snowpack will be less than half … Continue reading Cleaner snow boosts future snowpack predictions

Newport OR (SPX) Oct 16, 2023 Dynamic and changing Arctic Ocean conditions likely caused three major mortality events in the eastern North Pacific gray whale population since the 1980s, a new study has found. During each of these die-offs, including one that began in 2019 and is ongoing, the gray whale population was reduced by up to 25% over just a few years, said Joshua … Continue reading Gray whales experience major population swings as a result of Arctic conditions, research shows

Nairobi (AFP) Oct 12, 2023 A Kenyan court on Thursday barred the government from lifting a ban on logging but allowed the felling of several thousand hectares of mature forest. In July, President William Ruto ordered the lifting of the near six-year moratorium despite the concerns of environmentalists, saying it was aimed at creating jobs. The Environment and Land Court ruled Thursday that the order … Continue reading Kenya court blocks lifting of logging ban

London (AFP) Oct 12, 2023 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak softening the pace of Britain’s net-zero agenda will make its targets harder to achieve while costing people more, his own government’s climate advisers said Thursday. Sunak announced last month that a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars would be delayed from 2030 to 2035. He also lowered the proportion of households that … Continue reading UK govt’s climate advisers issue warning over net-zero shift

Wellington (AFP) Oct 13, 2023 New Zealand has a plan to tax farmers for their livestock’s burps and farts – and it’s causing a stink ahead of Saturday’s general elections. The economy is driven by agriculture with around 10 million cattle and 25 million sheep roaming the nation’s pastures. So in the fight against climate change, New Zealand’s government has targeted livestock as it drives … Continue reading Burp tax causes pre-poll stink with New Zealand farmers