Ottawa (AFP) May 17, 2023 Canada called for foreign help Wednesday to combat wildfires burning out of control and spreading across vast swathes of the western half of the country. The fires that have devastated the oil-producing Alberta province have in recent days spread to neighboring British Columbia and Saskatchewan as well as the Northwest Territories. Some 2,500 firefighters from across Canada backed by 400http://dlvr.it/SpGSfp Continue reading Canada seeks foreign help to fight spreading wildfires

Hong Kong (AFP) May 18, 2023 Hong Kong must not “recommend books with unhealthy ideas”, the city’s leader John Lee said on Thursday, following the removal of library books related to the deadly Tiananmen Square crackdown and other political issues. The finance hub has undergone huge legal and political changes since Beijing imposed a national security law on the territory in 2020, silencing dissent following … Continue reading Library books should not have ‘unhealthy ideas’: Hong Kong leader

Frankfurt, Germany (AFP) May 17, 2023 German reinsurance giant Munich Re reported a drop in first-quarter profits Wednesday after taking a hit from claims linked to the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria. The group, which covers insurance firms against their risks, said net profit fell by 14 percent year-on-year to 1.27 billion euros ($1.4 billion). Claims for major losses from natural catastrophes were … Continue reading Turkey quake weighs on Munich Re profits

Beijing (AFP) May 17, 2023 A Chinese fishing vessel has capsized in the central Indian Ocean, state media reported Wednesday, with its crew of 17 Chinese, 17 Indonesian and five Filipino sailors missing. “So far, no missing persons have been found,” state broadcaster CCTV said, adding President Xi Jinping had ordered a search and rescue operation. The vessel, owned by Penglai Jinglu Fishery Co, capsized … Continue reading Chinese fishing vessel capsizes in Indian Ocean with 39 missing

Rayton, South Africa (AFP) May 16, 2023 Workers in Pieter Swart’s tanning and taxidermy workshop are busy skinning impala heads, bleaching buffalo bones and softening zebra skins. His business in South Africa has thrived for years, but the 58-year-old says it is now threatened by a British law sponsored by animal activists. The bill, which bans the import of hunting trophies, could open the way … Continue reading S.African taxidermists fret at UK hunting trophy ban

Donana National Park, Spain (AFP) May 17, 2023 Concern over the future of Spain’s Donana natural park, which is threatened by overfarming, has made water management a key issue ahead of local elections at the end of May. Spain’s water resources are becoming exhausted while its irrigation needs keep rising, “an unsustainable situation”, said Felipe Fuentelsaz of WWF Spain. The Donana National Park in the … Continue reading Water woes shake up Spain’s election campaign

Sydney (AFP) May 15, 2023 Australia’s government settled a class action lawsuit on Monday over claims that toxic firefighting chemicals used at several military bases had leaked into groundwater and the surrounding land. The lawsuit sought Aus$132.7 million (US$88 million) in compensation for around 30,000 people, alleging that PFAS chemicals used in firefighting foam had contaminated land around the bases and decreahttp://dlvr.it/SpCWvN Continue reading Australia settles lawsuit over military base contaminations

Heidelberg, Germany (SPX) May 17, 2023 Approximately 700,000 years ago, a “warm ice age” permanently changed the climate cycles on Earth. Contemporaneous with this exceptionally warm and moist period, the polar glaciers greatly expanded. A European research team including Earth scientists from Heidelberg University used recently acquired geological data in combination with computer simulations to identify this seemingly paradoxical chttp://dlvr.it/Sp8VvH Continue reading Warm Ice Age changed climate cycles

Mainz, Germany (SPX) May 17, 2023 The Brazilian rainforest is one of the world’s few continental regions with clean air. However, this is only true during the wet season, when the concentration of particulate matter is very low. During the dry season, it’s a different story: numerous deforestation fires burn within the Amazon rainforest, as an “arc of deforestation” eats into the rainforest from the … Continue reading African smoke over the Amazon

Santiago (AFP) May 16, 2023 Chile’s Patagonia is known for its mountains and hiking paradise but it is also home to the largest continuous kelp forest in the world. Kelp forests are crucial for battling climate change by capturing carbon, regulating the sea’s PH level, maintaining the structure of coasts and are home to multiple species. But more than half of the world’s kelp forests … Continue reading Patagonia’s underwater defense against climate change