24/7 News Coverage
November 15, 2023
CLIMATE SCIENCE
China, US pledge climate cooperation ahead of Xi-Biden meet



Beijing (AFP) Nov 15, 2023
China and the United States pledged Wednesday to work more closely together to fight global warming, declaring the climate crisis "one of the greatest challenges of our time". The announcement came hours ahead of a summit between presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping in San Francisco, further fuelling hopes the two nations can mend relations following years of turmoil over issues including trade, human rights and the future of Taiwan. In a joint statement following climate talks in the United Stat ... read more

CLIMATE SCIENCE
EU negotiators reach deal on methane emission curbs
Brussels (AFP) Nov 15, 2023
Negotiators for the EU's member states and lawmakers on Wednesday reached a deal on new rules to curb methane emissions which would put new reporting requirements on the coal, gas and oil industry. ... more
CLIMATE SCIENCE
World severely off track to limit planet-heating emissions: UN
Paris (AFP) Nov 14, 2023
The world is "failing to get a grip" on climate change, the UN warned Tuesday, as an assessment of climate pledges shows only minor progress on reducing emissions this decade. ... more
WEATHER REPORT
Heat projected to kill nearly five times more people by 2050
Paris (AFP) Nov 14, 2023
Nearly five times more people will likely die due to extreme heat in the coming decades, an international team of experts warned on Wednesday, adding that without action on climate change the "health of humanity is at grave risk". ... more
FIRE STORM
Fight fire with fire: controlled burns stem California blazes
Santa Cruz, United States (AFP) Nov 13, 2023
In a forest in northern California, a line of people spread out through the trees, setting fire to shrubs and fallen branches in an act of intentional arson aimed at making the woodland better able to cope with future conflagrations. ... more
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AFRICA NEWS


One in four Somalis face 'crisis-level hunger': UN

AFRICA NEWS
Benin struggles in battle to halt coastal erosion
Cotonou (AFP) Nov 15, 2023
Along its Atlantic coast, Benin's government has spent millions of dollars to protect coastal communities from sea erosion. But Doris Alapini can only watch as waves tirelessly eat away at her land and the large seaside restaurant she built. ... more
WEATHER REPORT
Threat from sand and dust storms spreading: UN
Tashkent (AFP) Nov 15, 2023
The UN warned Wednesday that the number of sand and dust storms are increasing "dramatically" with Central Asia most hit by the dangerous phenomena. ... more
ROBO SPACE
AI images of white faces are now 'hyper-real': study
Paris (AFP) Nov 13, 2023
Images of faces generated by artificial intelligence (AI) can now appear more real than pictures of real people - as long as they are white, a study said on Monday. ... more
FLORA AND FAUNA
Critically endangered Sumatran elephant born in Indonesia
Jakarta (AFP) Nov 13, 2023
A critically endangered Sumatran elephant was born in western Indonesia over the weekend, according to officials, giving renewed hope to conservation efforts after several other baby elephant and rhino births in recent months. ... more
FLORA AND FAUNA
The mystery of phosphite - a scientific detective story
Konstanz, Germany (SPX) Nov 13, 2023
Our story begins at the end of the 1980s, with a sheet of paper. On this sheet, a scientist calculated that the conversion of the chemical compound phosphite to phosphate would release enough energy ... more

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FROTH AND BUBBLE


Campaigners demand Thailand act on air pollution

FROTH AND BUBBLE
'Forever chemicals' blood tests in Belgium over polluted water
Brussels (AFP) Nov 14, 2023
Belgium's southern Wallonia region pledged Tuesday to offer free blood tests for residents to measure their possible exposure to PFAS "forever chemicals" amid a scandal over polluted drinking water. ... more
FROTH AND BUBBLE
Pupils, employees urged to stay home in smog-hit Tehran
Tehran (AFP) Nov 14, 2023
Iranian authorities urged young schoolchildren and many civil servants in the capital Tehran to stay at home Wednesday due to a spike in air pollution levels. ... more
FROTH AND BUBBLE
Scientists caution against a reliance on mechanical devices to clear water bodies of plastic
Plymouth UK (SPX) Nov 10, 2023
An international group of scientists has cautioned against reliance on mechanical cleanup devices as a means of addressing the plastic pollution crisis. The researchers - comprising a number o ... more
SPACEMART
SpaceX Launches Planet Lab's Pelican-1 and SuperDoves
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Nov 12, 2023
In a significant advancement for Earth observation technology, Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL) achieved a major milestone with the successful launch and commissioning of Pelican-1, its first technology d ... more
FARM NEWS
China's animal lovers fight illegal cat meat trade
Suzhou, China (AFP) Nov 15, 2023
When Han Jiali's beloved cat Dabai was taken from her Shanghai home last year, she embarked on a hunt for her pet that took her deep into the bowels of China's underground feline meat trade. ... more
SHAKE AND BLOW


250 flood-hit northern France communities in state of disaster

WEATHER REPORT
Rio de Janeiro bakes in record heat
Sao Paulo (AFP) Nov 15, 2023
A heat wave that has settled over large parts of Brazil sent temperatures on Tuesday soaring in Rio de Janeiro to levels more akin to an oven. ... more
SHAKE AND BLOW
Thousands of homes underwater after floods hit Vietnam
Hanoi (AFP) Nov 15, 2023
The ancient Vietnamese city of Hue, a world heritage site popular with tourists, was underwater Wednesday after heavy rain flooded thousands of homes and blocked highways. ... more
WATER WORLD
Endangered sea turtles get second life at Tunisian centre
Sfax, Tunisia (AFP) Nov 13, 2023
A crowd has gathered to see off Rose, a loggerhead sea turtle, who labours across the Tunisian sand to rejoin the waters of the Mediterranean. ... more
AFRICA NEWS
Uganda charges militia chief over tourist murders
Kampala (AFP) Nov 13, 2023
Ugandan prosecutors on Monday charged the commander of a feared militia with terrorism and murder over the killing of two foreign tourists and their driver last month. ... more
AFRICA NEWS
From biodiversity to political crises: five things about Madagascar
Antananarivo (AFP) Nov 13, 2023
Madagascar will hold the first round of its presidential elections on Thursday, with the run-up to the vote marred by near daily opposition demonstrations. ... more
AFRICA NEWS
UN fears escalation of interethnic violence in Sudan
United Nations, United States (AFP) Nov 14, 2023
The UN on Tuesday decried an escalation of interethnic violence in Sudan, saying it had credible information indicating targeted killings against the Masalit ethnic group. ... more
AFRICA NEWS
Six killed in east DR Congo after soldiers, pro-state militants clash
Goma, Dr Congo (AFP) Nov 12, 2023
At least six people have been killed after a dispute between soldiers and pro-government militants in volatile eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, several sources said on Sunday. ... more
SINO DAILY
Japan urges China to release national jailed on spy charges
Tokyo (AFP) Nov 13, 2023
Japan has urged China to release one of its nationals who was sentenced to 12 years in prison on espionage charges, Tokyo's top government spokesman said Monday. ... more
DEMOCRACY
Iraq Supreme Court says dismissed powerful parliament speaker
Baghdad (AFP) Nov 14, 2023
Iraq's top court said on Tuesday it was dismissing parliament speaker Mohamed al-Halbussi, an influential Sunni Muslim politician, prompting three ministers to submit their resignations. ... more
EARLY EARTH
Recreation of ancient seawater reveals which nutrients shaped the evolution of early life
Oxford UK (SPX) Nov 14, 2023
Scientists know very little about conditions in the ocean when life first evolved, but new research published in Nature Geoscience has revealed how geological processes controlled which nutrients we ... more
SHAKE AND BLOW
Some of today's earthquakes may be aftershocks from quakes in the 1800s
Washington DC (SPX) Nov 14, 2023
In the 1800s, some of the strongest earthquakes in recorded U.S. history struck North America's continental interior. Almost two centuries later, the central and eastern United States may still be e ... more
EARLY EARTH
The first dinosaur egg was leathery
Beijing, China (SPX) Nov 14, 2023
The discovery of several exceptionally preserved reproduction-related dinosaur specimens over the last three decades has improved our knowledge of dinosaur reproductive biology. Nevertheless, due to ... more
WOOD PILE
Forests could absorb much more carbon, but does it matter?
Bangkok (AFP) Nov 13, 2023
Protecting forests globally could vastly increase the amount of carbon they sequester, a new study finds, but given our current emissions track, does it really matter? ... more
WOOD PILE
Kenyans brave heavy rain to plant trees
Nairobi (AFP) Nov 13, 2023
Hundreds of Kenyans braved heavy downpours to plant seedlings in Nairobi after the government declared Monday a public holiday to encourage citizens to grow 100 million trees across the country. ... more
WATER WORLD
South Asia worst in world for water scarcity: UN
New Delhi (AFP) Nov 13, 2023
More children in South Asia are struggling due to severe water scarcity made worse by the impacts of climate change than anywhere else worldwide, the United Nations said Monday. ... more
FARM NEWS
Myanmar's famed Inle Lake chokes on floating farms
Inle Lake, Myanmar (AFP) Nov 14, 2023
From a gently rocking boat, Nyunt Win tends a floating tomato crop in the cool water of Myanmar's famed Inle Lake, nestled in the Shan Hills and once the country's most popular tourist spot. ... more
SHAKE AND BLOW
Flooding in Somalia displaces 500,000 people: minister
Mogadishu (AFP) Nov 12, 2023
Heavy rains that triggered flash flooding in Somalia have caused around half a million people to flee their homes and killed more than 30 people, a minister said on Sunday. ... more
DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Israel strike destroys Al-Shifa hospital cardiac ward: Hamas; MSF warns of 'inhuman' conditions
Gaza Strip, Palestinian Territories (AFP) Nov 12, 2023
A Hamas health official said Sunday that an Israeli air strike destroyed the cardiac ward of Gaza's biggest hospital, Al-Shifa, as fighting raged around the facility. ... more
SHAKE AND BLOW
Rain in northern France raises fears of new flooding
Neuville-Sous-Montreuil, France (AFP) Nov 13, 2023
A new spell of rain in northern France on Monday forced school closures and brought fears of fresh misery after devastating floods hit the department of Pas-de-Calais last week. ... more
SHAKE AND BLOW
Residents get brief return to volcano-risk Icelandic town
Grindavik, Iceland (AFP) Nov 13, 2023
From Christmas gifts to sheep, residents forced from an Icelandic town damaged by hundreds of earthquakes in recent days were able to briefly return on Monday to retrieve their belongings, authorities said. ... more
WHALES AHOY
Dominica to create world's first sperm whale reserve
Washington (AFP) Nov 13, 2023
Dominica is set to create the world's first sperm whale reserve, designating a swath of ocean where large ships and commercial fishing are restricted and visitors can swim alongside the gentle marine giants. ... more
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