Environment

Indonesia volcano eruption shuts more airports, ash reaches Malaysia

Indonesia, May 1, 2024 (AFP) – Eruptions at a remote Indonesian volcano forced more than half a dozen airports to close with ash spreading as far as Malaysia, officials said Wednesday, while authorities rushed to evacuate thousands due to tsunami fears. Mount Ruang erupted three times on Tuesday, spewing lava and ash more than five kilometres (three miles) into the sky and forcing authorities to issue evacuation orders for 12,000 locals. A rescue ship and […]

WHO says US keeping them updated on bird flu outbreak

  GENEVA, April 30, 2024 (AFP) – The WHO said Tuesday it was being frequently updated by Washington about the bird flu outbreak in the United States — the only country so far where dairy cows have been infected. Earlier this month, US authorities said a person working on a dairy farm in Texas was recovering from bird flu after having been exposed to cattle. “We have been receiving information and we have been receiving […]

Kenya delays schools reopening due to floods

NAIROBI, April 29, 2024 (AFP) – Kenya said Monday that it would postpone the reopening of schools by one week due to “ongoing heavy rains” that have triggered deadly floods in the East African nation. Schools were originally scheduled to reopen on Monday, following mid-term holidays, but the torrential monsoon downpours have affected many educational facilities, prompting the education ministry to delay the resumption of classes. “The devastating effects of the rains in some of […]

Cicada-palooza! Billions of bugs to blanket America

By Issam AHMED WASHINGTON, April 27, 2024 (AFP) – They’re loud. They’re sexually aroused. And for one special, cacophonous month up to a trillion of them will engulf suburbs and woodlands across America. Two cicada “broods” are set for a rare double emergence that last occurred in 1803, when Thomas Jefferson was president and the United States purchased Louisiana from France. The prospect of another natural wonder just weeks after a total solar eclipse across […]

DR Congo accuses Apple of using ‘blood minerals’ from war-torn east

By Lucie PEYTERMANN The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo is accusing Apple of using “illegally exploited” minerals extracted from the country’s embattled east in its products, lawyers representing the African country said Thursday. The DRC’s lawyers have sent Apple a formal notice seen by AFP, effectively warning the tech giant that it could face legal action if the alleged practice continues. The Paris-based lawyers accused Apple of purchasing minerals smuggled from the DRC […]

155 killed in Tanzania as heavy rains lash East Africa

DAR ES SALAAM, April 25, 2024 (AFP) – At least 155 people have died in Tanzania as torrential rains linked to El Nino triggered flooding and landslides, Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa said Thursday. Tanzania and other countries in East Africa — a region highly vulnerable to climate change — have been pounded by heavier than usual rainfall during the current rainy season, with dozens of deaths also reported in Kenya. Majaliwa said more than 51,000 […]

Pakistan horror zoo is reborn as rehab centre

By Shrouq TARIQ ISLAMABAD, April 25, 2024 (AFP) – Before it was forced to close over its “intolerable” treatment of animals, the Islamabad Zoo was home to neglected elephants and underfed lions pacing back and forth behind the bars of their enclosures. Now, four years later, it is a rehabilitation centre for Pakistani wildlife, providing a refuge for motherless leopard cubs, tigers seized from owners who kept them as status symbols, and bears forced to […]

Up to 160 pilot whales stranded on Australian beach

SYDNEY, Australia, April 25, 2024 (AFP) – Marine biologists raced Thursday to save more than 100 pilot whales after a mass stranding on an Australian beach, with officials fearing many will have to be euthanised. Western Australia’s Parks and Wildlife Service said 26 of the beached pilot whales had already died. As many as 160 pilot whales became stranded Thursday morning at Toby’s Inlet, officials said, located about three hours’ drive south of state capital […]

Philippine court blocks GMO ‘golden rice’ production over safety fears

MANILA, April 25, 2024 (AFP) – A Philippine court has blocked the commercial propagation of genetically modified golden rice because it said conflicting scientific views gave rise to “severe” health and environmental safety concerns. The Philippines was the first country in the world to approve golden rice, which is enriched with the Vitamin A precursor beta-carotene and has a bright yellow colour, in a bid to combat childhood blindness. However, the Court of Appeals in […]

Heatstroke kills 30 in Thailand this year as kingdom bakes

BANGKOK, April 25, 2024 (AFP) – Thailand issued fresh warnings about scorching hot weather on Thursday as the government said heatstroke has already killed at least 30 people this year. City authorities in Bangkok gave an extreme heat warning as the heat index was expected to rise above 52 degrees Celsius (125 degrees Fahrenheit). Temperatures in the concrete sprawl of the Thai capital hit 40.1 C on Wednesday and similar levels were forecast for Thursday. […]

Danger warning issued for Bangkok as extreme heat bites

BANGKOK, April 24, 2024 (AFP) – Thai authorities issued an extreme heat warning for Bangkok on Wednesday, urging people to stay indoors for their own safety as temperatures soared. The mercury was forecast to hit 39 C in the sprawling Thai capital, while the heat index rose above 52 C, classed as “extremely dangerous” by city authorities. The heat index is a measure of what the temperature feels like, taking humidity, wind speed and other […]

‘Staggering’ number of workers facing climate change-induced health hazards: UN

GENEVA, April 22, 2024 (AFP) – A large majority of workers worldwide are facing a cocktail of health hazards linked to climate change, the UN said Monday, warning that existing regulations were not equipped to offer adequate protection. “A staggering number of workers are already being exposed to climate change-related hazards in the workplace, and these figures are only likely to get worse,” the United Nations’ International Labour Organization said in a report. Agricultural workers […]