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  Paris (AFP) July 30, 2018 The planet's largest colony of king penguins has declined by nearly 90 percent in three decades, alarmed researchers said Monday. The last time scientists set foot on France's remote Ile aux Cochons - roughly half way between the tip of Africa and Antarctica - the island was blanketed by two million of the flightless birds, which stand about a metre (three feet) tall. But recent satellite images and photos taken from helicopters show the population has collapsed, with barely 200,000 remaining ... read more |
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Plate tectonics not needed to sustain lifeUniversity Park PA (SPX) Jul 31, 2018 There may be more habitable planets in the universe than we previously thought, according to Penn State geoscientists, who suggest that plate tectonics - long assumed to be a requirement for suitabl ... more  
Bacteria extinctions are quite common, study showsWashington (UPI) Jul 30, 2018 Until now, many scientists thought microbes rarely go extinct. But new research suggests bacteria species disappear at surprisingly high rates. ... more  
Watchdog urges China to clamp down on imports of illegal timberSydney (AFP) July 30, 2018 Beijing must better scrutinise imports of illegally logged timber from countries such as Papua New Guinea where deforestation is devastating ecosystems and livelihoods, Global Witness said Monday. ... more  
Ocean acidification is disrupting marine ecosystems, study showsWashington (UPI) Jul 27, 2018 Ocean acidification is already significantly altering marine ecosystems, and if CO2 concentrations continue to rise, the effects of ocean acidity could be even more profound. ... more |
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| Previous Issues | Jul 30 | Jul 28 | Jul 27 | Jul 26 | Jul 25 |
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Paleontologists discover largest dinosaur foot to dateWashington DC (SPX) Jul 30, 2018 As it turns out, "Bigfoot" was a dinosaur - a giant, plant-eating one. A new study based on fossils excavated in Wyoming reveals the largest dinosaur foot ever found and identifies it as a brachiosa ... more  
Fish in hospital as rains kill 80 in north IndiaNew Delhi (AFP) July 30, 2018 Dirty water with fish squirming around flooded a hospital in northeast India after monsoon rain and at least 80 people died within days in one state in weather-related accidents, officials said Monday. ... more 
Powerful storm hits disaster-ravaged JapanTokyo (AFP) July 29, 2018 A powerful storm slammed into Japan on Sunday, churning across western areas already hard hit by floods and landslides earlier this month and injuring some 20 people. ... more 
Nearly 120,000 displaced in Myanmar floodsYangon (AFP) July 31, 2018 Nearly 120,000 people have been displaced after floods submerged a vast swathe of southeastern Myanmar, killing 11 people and sending panicked residents fleeing for dry ground with children perched on their shoulders and few belongings in tow. ... more  
Portugal prepares for fire intervention as heatwave approachesLisbon (AFP) July 30, 2018 Portugal said Monday it has mobilised more than 10,000 people and boosted control operations in fire-prone areas of the country ahead of a major heatwave to avoid a repeat of last year's deadly wildfires. ... more |
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 Strong quake kills 14, injures scores, on Indonesia holiday island  
Chinese parents stage rare public protest over vaccine scareBeijing (AFP) July 30, 2018 About a dozen people held a rare protest outside China's Health Ministry to demand action over a vaccine scandal that has inflamed public fears over the safety of domestically produced drugs. ... more  |
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'Come and get me,' boy pleaded before California fire deathRedding, United States (AFP) July 31, 2018 A young boy pleaded for rescue before he died along with two others in a California wildfire, an anguished relative recounted Monday, while other shaken survivors told of their flight from a "tornado" of fire. ... more 
Greek PM Tsipras visits scene of wildfire disasterAthens (AFP) July 30, 2018 Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Monday paid his first visit to the area ravaged by the country's worst ever wildfires, as anger mounts over his government's response to the disaster which claimed scores of lives. ... more  
Cambodia PM's party to win 'all seats' in flawed electionPhnom Penh (AFP) July 30, 2018 Cambodia's flawed elections are set to hand the ruling party of strongman Hun Sen all 125 parliamentary seats, a spokesman told AFP Monday, an outcome that would turn the country into a one-party state after a vote devoid of an opposition. ... more 
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. ... 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 |
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 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 |
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 Washington (AFP) July 26, 2018 
US defense officials unveiled Thursday a much-anticipated final request for tech firms to bid on a massive contract to provide the Pentagon with a comprehensive cloud computing service.
Tech titans including Amazon and Microsoft have already spent months jockeying for a winning offer on the prestigious contract, which could be worth as much as $10 billion over a decade.
The Joint Enterpr ... more |
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 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 |
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 Bristol UK (SPX) Jul 30, 2018  A new study carried out by an international team of researchers, using the chemistry of ocean sediments has highlighted a widespread picture of Atlantic circulation changes associated with rapid climate change in the past.
The new integrated dataset, published today in the journal Nature Communications, provides new insights into the interactions of melting ice, ocean circulation and clima ... more |
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 Washington DC (SPX) Jul 30, 2018  The conversion of forests to farmland is recognized as a major contributor to rising levels of greenhouse gases. And yet it hasn't been clear how to best minimize the loss of sequestered carbon into the atmosphere. Is it better to maximize farm yields so as to use less land area over all? Or should farms be operated so as to retain more carbon on site, even at the expense of crop yields?
R ... more |
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 Tokyo (AFP) July 29, 2018 
A powerful storm slammed into Japan on Sunday, churning across western areas already hard hit by floods and landslides earlier this month and injuring some 20 people.
Typhoon Jongdari, with winds of up to 180 kilometres (110 miles) an hour, made landfall at Ise in Mie prefecture at around 1 am (1600 GMT Saturday), according to the meteorological agency.
More than 170 domestic flights wer ... more |
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 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 |
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 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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 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 |
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 Washington DC (SPX) Jul 30, 2018 
A new scientific study published in PeerJ - the Journal of Life and Environmental Sciences has tracked juvenile whale sharks across the Philippines emphasising the importance of the archipelago for the species. The study is the most complete tracking study of whale sharks in the country, with satellite tags deployed on different individuals in multiple sites.
The Philippines is an importan ... more |
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 Bristol UK (SPX) Jul 30, 2018 
A newly published experimental protocol, involving University of Bristol scientists, could change the way fossilisation is studied.
In addition to directly studying fossils themselves, experimental treatments of fresh organismal remains can be utilised to study fossilisation.
One commonly employed experimental approach is known as 'artificial maturation', where high heat and pressure ... more |
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 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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 Cambridge UK (SPX) Jul 30, 2018 
Researchers have identified a group of materials that could be used to make even higher power batteries. The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, used materials with a complex crystalline structure and found that lithium ions move through them at rates that far exceed those of typical electrode materials, which equates to a much faster-charging battery.
Although these materials, ... more |
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 Washington (UPI) Jul 30, 2018 
Until now, many scientists thought microbes rarely go extinct. But new research suggests bacteria species disappear at surprisingly high rates.
According to the latest analysis, when bacteria do go extinct, they fade away. The study, published Monday in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, showed bacteria are rarely snuffed out by mass extinction events.
Scientists used adva ... more |
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 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 |
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 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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