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Heatwaves from the Arctic to Japan: a sign of things to come?![]() Paris (AFP) July 27, 2018 Intense heatwaves like the one which fuelled Greece's deadly wildfires are set to become increasingly frequent around the world due to climate change, experts warn. - Is the current heatwave exceptional? - Record high temperatures have been registered across the Northern Hemisphere in recent weeks, from Norway to Japan. Sweltering summers are the norm in Greece, where at least 82 people have been killed in the country's worst ever forest fires. But in Northern Europe the recent heatwave ... read more |
Powerful storm hits disaster-ravaged JapanTokyo (AFP) July 29, 2018 A powerful storm slammed into central Japan on Sunday, bringing heavy rains as it churned across western areas already devastated by floods and landslides. ... more
Rainstorms kill 49 in northern IndiaNew Delhi (AFP) July 28, 2018 Heavy monsoon rains that sparked floods and caused buildings to collapse have killed at least 49 people in north India's Uttar Pradesh state since Thursday officials said, as the national weather agency issued further storm warnings. ... more
Blame game blows up over deadly Greek wildfiresAthens (AFP) July 27, 2018 Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday said he assumed "political responsibility" for the country's deadliest wildfires as a bitter debate raged over who was to blame for the tragedy. ... more
At least 10 dead as strong quake jolts Indonesia island LombokJakarta (AFP) July 29, 2018 A powerful 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck the popular Indonesian tourist destination Lombok Sunday, killing at least 10 people and injuring dozens more, officials said. ... more |
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Glaciers in East Antarctica also 'imperiled' by climate changeIrvine CA (SPX) Jul 30, 2018 A team of scientists from the University of California, Irvine has found evidence of significant mass loss in East Antarctica's Totten and Moscow University glaciers, which, if they fully collapsed, ... more
Research shows how the Little Ice Age affected South American climateSao Paulo, Brazil (SPX) Jul 30, 2018 A new study published in Geophysical Research Journal shows that the so-called Little Ice Age - a period stretching from 1500 to 1850 in which mean temperatures in the northern hemisphere were consi ... more
NZ strikes off-note by stripping ivory off 123-yr-old British pianoWellington (AFP) July 29, 2018 New Zealand authorities have been accused of "vandalism" after they stripped the ivory key tops from an antique piano shipped into the country by its British owner. ... more
Rise of the grasshoppers: New analysis redraws evolutionary tree for major insect familyAnnapolis MD (SPX) Jul 30, 2018 Grasshoppers are one of the most ubiquitous groups of insects in the world, found everywhere from grasslands to tropical rainforests to isolated mountain ranges to sandy deserts. And now, thanks to ... more
The blueprint for El Nino diversitySeoul, South Korea (SPX) Jul 30, 2018 A new research study, published this week by an international team of climate scientists in the journal Nature, isolates key mechanisms that cause El Nino events to differ amongst each other. The te ... more |
![]() Tropical forests may soon hinder, not help, climate change effort
The last wild oceanSanta Barbara CA (SPX) Jul 30, 2018 The ocean, long a source of inspiration for exploration and discovery as well as a place to test the limits of humans, is no longer the wild frontier it once was. An international study published in ... more |
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Yellowstone super-volcano has a different history than previously thoughtBlacksburg VA (SPX) Jul 30, 2018 The long-dormant Yellowstone super-volcano in the American West has a different history than previously thought, according to a new study by a Virginia Tech geoscientist. Scientists have long ... more
IU researchers develop model for predicting landslides caused by earthquakesBloomington IN (SPX) Jul 30, 2018 The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan, China, killed tens of thousands of people and left millions homeless. About 20,000 deaths - nearly 30 percent of the total - resulted not from the ground sha ... more
Uganda jails 35 Congolese for illegal fishingKampala (AFP) July 28, 2018 Uganda said Saturday it had sentenced 35 people from neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo for up to three years for illegal fishing. ... more
Record drought grips Germany's breadbasketNiederndodeleben, Germany (AFP) July 29, 2018 Withered sunflowers, scorched wheat fields, stunted cornstalks - the farmlands of northern Germany have borne the brunt of this year's extreme heat and record-low rainfall, triggering an epochal drought. ... more
Vanuatu orders volcano-hit island to evacuate againWellington (AFP) July 27, 2018 Vanuatu renewed a state of emergency on the volcano-hit island of Ambae Friday and ordered the compulsory evacuation of all residents. ... more |
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That's cold: Japan tech blasts snoozing workers with AC Tokyo (AFP) July 26, 2018
Japanese office workers hoping to nod off on the job may need to sleep with one eye open thanks to a new system that can detect snoozers and blast them with cold air.
Air conditioning manufacturer Daikin and electronics giant NEC said Thursday they have begun trialling the system, which monitors the movement of the employee's eyelids with a camera attached to a computer.
The computer can ... more |
Into The Void: hyper-real 'Star Wars' VR makes you the hero Anaheim, United States (AFP) July 29, 2018
Imagine putting on a helmet, lowering the visor and being transported immediately from your humdrum day-to-day existence into your own "Star Wars" adventure.
Well, holster that blaster because the kind of fantasy that could once only be woven into the dreams of the young is coming to a theme park or shopping mall near you - perhaps sooner than you think.
The Void is the latest in a floo ... more |
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The last wild ocean Santa Barbara CA (SPX) Jul 30, 2018
The ocean, long a source of inspiration for exploration and discovery as well as a place to test the limits of humans, is no longer the wild frontier it once was. An international study published in the journal Current Biology demonstrates that only 13 percent of the ocean can still be classified as wilderness.
"The idea of wilderness is powerful for people, as well as for nature," said UC ... more |
Glaciers in East Antarctica also 'imperiled' by climate change Irvine CA (SPX) Jul 30, 2018
A team of scientists from the University of California, Irvine has found evidence of significant mass loss in East Antarctica's Totten and Moscow University glaciers, which, if they fully collapsed, could add 5 meters (16.4 feet) to the global sea level.
In a paper published this week in the American Geophysical Union journal Geophysical Research Letters, the glaciologists estimate that be ... more |
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Record drought grips Germany's breadbasket Niederndodeleben, Germany (AFP) July 29, 2018
Withered sunflowers, scorched wheat fields, stunted cornstalks - the farmlands of northern Germany have borne the brunt of this year's extreme heat and record-low rainfall, triggering an epochal drought.
As the blazing sun beats down, combine harvesters working the normally fertile breadbasket of Saxony-Anhalt in former communist East Germany kick up giant clouds of dust as they roll over t ... more |
Yellowstone super-volcano has a different history than previously thought Blacksburg VA (SPX) Jul 30, 2018
The long-dormant Yellowstone super-volcano in the American West has a different history than previously thought, according to a new study by a Virginia Tech geoscientist.
Scientists have long thought that Yellowstone Caldera, part of the Rocky Mountains and located mostly in Wyoming, is powered by heat from the Earth's core, similar to most volcanoes such as the recently active Kilauea vol ... more |
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Uganda jails 35 Congolese for illegal fishing Kampala (AFP) July 28, 2018
Uganda said Saturday it had sentenced 35 people from neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo for up to three years for illegal fishing.
"We got 35 Congolese nationals. Thirty-one of them pleaded guilty and were convicted and sentenced to two years in prison for illegal fishing and entry into Uganda in June," said Deogratius Kato, a fisheries protection officer on Lake Albert, which is ... more |
Two baby mountain gorillas born in DR Congo's Virunga park Kinshasa (AFP) July 25, 2018
Virunga Park, the nature preserve in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo famous for its endangered mountain gorillas, said Wednesday that a mother had given birth to two babies, bringing to nine the number of infants born so far this year.
"The mountain gorillas were a most welcome source of good news in 2018 and it's only getting better!" the park said in a statement, adding that i ... more |
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Sri Lanka waives debt for 200,000 women in drought areas Colombo (AFP) July 25, 2018
Sri Lanka announced Wednesday it would waive debts for 200,000 women unable to repay microfinance loans and cap lending rates after a number of borrowers in drought-hit areas killed themselves.
Government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said women in a dozen districts who had taken small loans from microfinance institutions would have their debts forgiven and interest paid off with immediate eff ... more |
Preparing to fly the wind mission Aeolus Kourou, French Guiana (ESA) Jul 25, 2018
The launch of Aeolus - ESA's mission to map Earth's wind in real-time - is getting tantalisingly close, with the satellite due for lift-off on 21 August from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. With the wind in their sails, mission teams are busily preparing this unique satellite for its upcoming journey.
Aeolus will carry a sophisticated atmospheric laser Doppler instrument, dubb ... more |
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Sulfur analysis supports timing of oxygen's appearance Houston TX (SPX) Jul 24, 2018
Scientists have long thought oxygen appeared in Earth's lower atmosphere 2.7 billion years ago, making life as we know it possible. A Rice University researcher has added evidence to support that number.
The sulfur record held by ancient rock marks the dramatic change in the planet's atmosphere that gave rise to complex life, but rocks are local indicators. For the big picture, Rice bioge ... more |
Germany thwarts China by taking stake in 50Hertz power firm Berlin (AFP) July 27, 2018
The German government said Friday it took a minority stake in electricity transmission firm 50Hertz for "national security" reasons, thwarting Chinese investors from buying into the strategic company.
"On national security grounds, the federal government has a major interest in protecting critical energy infrastructure," the finance and economy ministries said in a joint statement.
Berli ... more |
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Liquid microscopy technique reveals new problem with lithium-oxygen batteries Chicago IL (SPX) Jul 27, 2018
Using an advanced, new microscopy technique that can visualize chemical reactions occurring in liquid environments, researchers have discovered a new reason lithium-oxygen batteries - which promise up to five times more energy than the lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles and cell phones - tend to slow down and die after just a few charge/discharge cycles. They report their finding ... more |
NZ strikes off-note by stripping ivory off 123-yr-old British piano Wellington (AFP) July 29, 2018
New Zealand authorities have been accused of "vandalism" after they stripped the ivory key tops from an antique piano shipped into the country by its British owner.
The 123-year-old upright piano should have been exempt from strict rules aimed at cracking down on the ivory trade, because it was built before 1914.
But owner Julian Paton, an English heart disease researcher who emigrated ... more |
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Historic Chinese town resists eviction for theme park Chikan, China (AFP) July 25, 2018 A year ago, customers queued round the block for Wu Ying's red bean and coconut ice puddings, but now the 60-year-old has to vault a barricade to reach her dessert shop.
Wu is one of several dozen inhabitants of a historic section of the town of Chikan in southern China who are stubbornly holding out against government pressure to sell their properties to make way for a "heritage" theme park ... more |
Tropical forests may soon hinder, not help, climate change effort Edinburgh UK (SPX) Jul 30, 2018
Forests in tropical regions could soon become a source of greenhouse gases, contributing to global warming rather than helping to counteract it, according to research.
Loss of trees to agriculture or livestock in tropical regions and the impact of climate change is limiting the forests' ability to absorb carbon dioxide, a study shows.
This could make it impossible to meet the main go ... more |
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