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Vienna, Austria | AFP | Tuesday 1/24/2023 Evidence is emerging that climate-related disasters are becoming a cause of human trafficking as criminal gangs exploit a growing number of uprooted people, the UN said Tuesday. The continuing war in Ukraine is also another risk factor for increased human trafficking, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said in a report. “Climate change is increasing vulnerability to trafficking,” the UNODC report said. “While a systematic […]
by Daniel Lawler Agence France Presse Paris, France (AFP) — Far below our feet, a giant may have started moving against us. Earth’s inner core, a hot iron ball the size of Pluto, has stopped spinning in the same direction as the rest of the planet and might even be rotating the other way, research suggested on Monday. Roughly 5,000 kilometres (3,100 miles) below the surface we live on, this “planet within the planet” can […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday approved emergency aid of $105 million for Haiti, which has long been mired in a humanitarian crisis that has been exacerbated by recent global inflation. The funds should enable the Caribbean country to “support those most affected by food price rises through feeding programs and cash and in-kind transfers to vulnerable households” said Antoinette Sayeh, the IMF deputy managing director, in a statement. The […]
by Sara HUSSEIN Agence France Presse Tokyo, Japan (AFP) – The specks are tiny. No, really tiny. Smaller than the diameter of a hair. But they hold billions of years of history that reveal some of the secrets of asteroids. The three minute particles from an asteroid called Itokawa show some of these space rocks are vastly older than was thought, and are much tougher. And that could mean we need bolder ways to prevent […]
Washington, United States (AFP) — Sea spiders can regrow body parts after amputation and not just limbs, according to a study released on Monday that may pave the way for further scientific research into regeneration. “Nobody had expected this,” said Gerhard Scholtz of Humboldt University in Berlin, senior author of the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “We were the first to show that this is possible.” It is well […]
by Katie Forster Agence France Presse Yokohama, Japan (AFP) — The dancers’ futuristic headgear glints under the lights at a top ballet show, but just two months ago their plastic costumes were sticky bottles tossed into a Tokyo recycling bin. Tutus made from used bubble wrap, four huge recycled bottle walls and 100 transparent umbrellas left behind in the Japanese capital all feature in the performance, which drew a full house to its first short […]
by Menna Zaki Agence France Presse Demokaya, Sudan (AFP) — A vast belt of trees vital for global production of fizzy drinks helps Sudanese farmers adapt to climate change, but in the harsh drylands many are reluctant to take up the trade. Gum arabic, golden blobs of resin tapped from thorny acacia trees, is an emulsifying agent virtually irreplaceable for global industry. The ingredient is used in everything from soft drinks to chewing gum and […]
Togoru, Fiji (AFP) by Steven TRASK The sea has already swallowed the village graveyard in Togoru, Fiji, and long-time resident Lavenia McGoon is dreading the day it claims her house. She piles old rubber car tyres under the coconut trees that line the beachfront, hoping this makeshift seawall will at least buy some time. The 70-year-old believes climate change, and the creeping ocean, will inevitably force her family to leave. “Nobody can stop it,” she […]
by Bahira Amin Agence France Presse Cairo, Egypt (AFP) — Entrepreneurial young Egyptians are helping combat their country’s huge plastic waste problem by recycling junk-food wrappers, water bottles and similar garbage that usually ends up in landfills or the Nile. At a factory on the outskirts of Cairo, run by their startup TileGreen, noisy machines gobble up huge amounts of plastic scraps of all colours, shred them and turn them into a thick liquid. The […]
by Jenny VAUGHAN Agence France Presse Paris, France (AFP) — Electric car batteries could be used to boost power storage in the future, injecting electricity into the grid during times of scarcity or storing electricity during periods of excess, a new study found Tuesday. Renewable energy is essential for the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to well below two degrees Celsius, but the need to scale up quickly and the intermittency of wind […]
Washington, United States (AFP) — Tick, tick, tick. An update is coming to the “Doomsday Clock,” representing the judgment of leading science and security experts about the perils to human existence. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced on Tuesday that they will announce at 10:00 am (1500 GMT) on January 24 whether the time of the symbolic clock will change. The organization describes the clock as a “metaphor for how close humanity is to […]
London, United Kingdom (AFP) – Nurses in England began two days of strikes over pay Wednesday, as officials warned of disruption for thousands of patients in the UK’s state-run health service. It comes after nurses held an unprecedented strike last month, joining a wave of industrial action by public sector workers hit by the cost-of-living crisis. The main nursing union accuses the government of failing to negotiate seriously on improving their pay deal for the […]
