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by Kiki Siregar Agence France-Presse Indonesia is about to open the Asian Games but its traffic-clogged capital Jakarta remains shrouded in a haze of air pollution that threatens to mar the world’s second-biggest multi-sport event. Jakarta’s toxic skies have been stuck at unhealthy levels for weeks despite drastic efforts to cut down on congestion, including an odd-even licence plate system and the closure of some schools and toll roads. The city’s air-quality index reading hovered […]
by Kerry Sheridan Agence France-Presse SARASOTA, United States (AFP) — A state of emergency has been declared in Florida as the worst red tide in a decade blackens the ocean water, killing dolphins, sea turtles and fish at a relentless pace. More than 100 tons of dead sea creatures have been shoveled up from smelly, deserted beaches in tourist areas along Florida’s southwest coast as a result of the harmful algal bloom this month alone. […]
by Marlowe Hood Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) – Manmade global warming and a natural surge in Earth’s surface temperature will join forces to make the next five years exceptionally hot, according to a study published Tuesday. The double whammy of climate change and so-called natural variability more than doubles the likelihood of “extreme warm events” in ocean surface waters, creating a dangerous breeding ground for hurricanes and typhoons, they reported in Nature Communications. “This […]
NOUMEA, France (AFP) — New Caledonia agreed Tuesday to tougher protections around a huge swathe of some of the world’s last near-pristine coral reefs, in a move conservationists hailed as a major breakthrough. The Pacific nation, a French overseas territory, is home to a rich array of wildlife including 2.5 million seabirds and over 9,300 marine species, such as dugongs — marine mammals related to manatees — and nesting green sea turtles, many of which thrive […]
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — New Zealand became the latest country Friday to outlaw single-use plastic shopping bags, with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern saying they will be phased out over the next year as a “meaningful step” towards reducing pollution. New Zealand uses “hundreds of millions” of single-use plastic bags each year, many of which end up harming marine life, Ardern said. “We need to be far smarter in the way we manage waste and […]
by Josh Edelson Agence France-Presse MENDOCINO, United States (AFP) — Thousands of firefighters, backed by US troops and crews from as far away as Australia and New Zealand, made progress Wednesday in their battle with California’s biggest wildfire on record — but the weather forecast for the rest of the week is not promising, officials said. Nearly 20 major fires have ravaged the sprawling western state over the past two weeks, fanned by strong winds and […]
by Marlowe Hood Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Even if humanity slashes greenhouse gas emissions in line with Paris climate treaty goals, the planet could overwhelm such efforts and irretrievably tip into a hellish ‘hothouse’ state, top scientists warned Monday. Under such a scenario, Earth’s average temperature would stabilize 4 or 5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, rather than the 1.5 C to 2 C (2.7 or 3.6 Fahrenheit) cap called for […]
by Bojan Kavci Agence France-Presse MARKOVEC, Slovenia (AFP)–When he used to go hunting, Miha Mlakar would dream of killing a bear. But today the 33-year-old from Slovenia makes his living watching the animals, peacefully, in their natural forest environment. The turnaround to shooting bears with a camera, not a rifle, puts Mlakar, who runs bear observation tours, in step with wider efforts in the small Alpine nation to promote the coexistence of humans and […]
MADRID, Spain (AFP)– Europe sweltered Saturday in intense heat with temperatures hitting near-record highs of 46 degrees Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit) in Portugal, while elsewhere the high temperatures, exacerbated fires and melted the asphalt on highways. Here is a roundup: – Spain: three dead – In southern Spain, the heat continued to pound the tourist city of Cordoba reaching 44 C. In Catalonia in the northeast, a fire on the border with France forced […]
SAIDA, Lebanon (AFP) — Lebanese environmentalists on Saturday sank 10 old tanks and armored vehicles to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea in a novel attempt to attract divers and create new habitats for marine life. Three kilometres off the coast of the city of Sidon, a huge crane on the back of a ship manoeuvred the military hardware into place over the water before dropping them down to the seabed one after the other. […]
OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Puppies discovered on an uninhabited island in the Canadian wilds are looking for a new home. The litter — four males and three females — has been dubbed the “Gilligan’s Island crew” after the 1960s American television sitcom about castaways on an uncharted tropical island. Two boaters recently heard their cries in the night, Deb Vandekerkhove, director of the rescue, told AFP. “The fellas could see some dark figures on the […]
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP)–Australia Thursday vowed to “vehemently” oppose a new push by Japan to undermine a global moratorium on commercial whaling, and urged like-minded nations to stand firm against Tokyo. Japan has regularly sought an easing of the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC) prohibition on commercial whaling and continues to kill the animals under what it calls a “scientific research” programme despite international criticism. At September’s IWC meeting in Brazil, Tokyo has said it plans to […]
