(Reuters) – – Climate change and high rates of extinctions of animals and plants are pushing the Earth into a danger zone for humanity, a scientific report card about mankind’s impact on nature said on Thursday. An international team of 18 experts, expanding on a 2009 report about “planetary boundaries” for safe human use, also sounded the alarm about clearance of forests and pollution from nitrogen and phosphorus in fertilisers. “I don’t think we’ve broken […]
Other News
UN envoy says humanitarian efforts in Myanmar still minimal, unacceptable
U.N. special envoy on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, said on Friday (January 16) that some advancements had been made in addressing the serious humanitarian and human rights issues she saw in Rakhine State in July 2014, but she added that much more needed to be done. “In my view the situation remains at crisis stage. Humanitarian access is still minimal and high risk,” Lee told reporters in Yangon. She said further […]
New Ebola cases slump in all three worst-hit countries – WHO
(Reuters) – All three countries hit hardest by the Ebola epidemic have recorded their lowest weekly number of new cases for months, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday, as the global death toll reached 8,429 out of 21,296 cases reported so far. Sierra Leone and Guinea both saw the lowest weekly total of confirmed Ebola cases since August 2014. Liberia, which reported two days with zero new cases last week, had its lowest weekly […]
UN envoy describes ‘sense of self-confidence’ among those battling Ebola outbreak
The United Nations Special Envoy on Ebola today described a growing feeling of confidence among those responding to the outbreak in West Africa, but he warned that there is an absolute need to maintain focus, vigilance and discipline to ensure that the disease is wiped out. “In the last few weeks, we’ve seen a big shift, a sense of self-confidence a sense that it can be beaten,” David Nabarro said in an interview with the […]
2014 was Earth’s hottest year, could lead to storm surges, flooding -NASA scientist
Last year was Earth’s warmest on record, bolstering the argument that people are altering the planet’s climate by relentlessly burning fuels that belch greenhouse gases into the air, two major U.S. government agencies said on Friday (January 16). Separate studies by the U.S. space agency NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed that the 10 warmest years on record have taken place since 1997. “What was found for 2014 was that 2014 was […]
Hundreds gather in Chad’s capital for anti-Boko Haram march
Hundreds of people gathered for an anti-Boko Haram march in Chad’s capital N’djamena on Saturday (January 17) to support the government’s decision to send troops to Cameroon. Chad said on Thursday (January 15) it would send a large number of troops to its southern neighbour to help fight increasing incursions from the Islamist militants attacking from Nigeria. Protesters holding banners reading “Stop Boko H” marched against the ongoing violence of the militant group, that has […]
Large Everest Capital hedge fund closing after Swiss franc losses – Bloomberg
(Reuters) – Hedge fund manager Marko Dimitrijevic is closing his largest hedge fund, Everest Capital’s Global Fund, having lost almost all its money after the Swiss National Bank (SNB) scrapped its three-year-old cap on the franc against the euro, Bloomberg news reported on Saturday. Citing a person familiar with the firm, Bloomberg said the fund had been betting that the Swiss franc would decline. The fund had about $830 million in assets at the end […]
Yemeni Gunmen Kidnap President’s Chief of Staff
Yemen’s Houthi militia seized the president’s chief of staff on Saturday (January 17) and threatened further steps to derail a proposed new constitution in a wrangle for power that threatens to bring down the government. The draft constitution was formally launched on Saturday and aims to resolve big regional, political and sectarian differences in Yemen by devolving authority to the regions. But it has been bitterly opposed by the Houthis who fear it will dilute […]
German farmers demand more government support
Thousands of farmers and consumer rights activists gathered at the German chancellory on Saturday (January 17) to protest against the rise of industrial-scale agriculture and genetically modified foods. The protest, under the headline “We are fed up”, coincided with the start ofEurope’s biggest agricultural fair, the International Green Week, and is one the largest annual protests in Germany. The protesters said they blamed the German government for not doing enough to support traditional farmers and […]
Troops take to Belgian streets to guard vs terror attacks
In Antwerp, Belgium’s second largest city, soldiers with machine guns are guarding the city’s Jewish community. Hundreds of troops are being deployed to protect all kinds of potential terror targets — Jewish schools and Jewish museums, diplomatic missions, offices for NATO and the EU. The move comes after authorities discovered an Islamist cell preparing an attack on police across the country, says Belgium’s Minister of Defense. BELGIAN MINISTER OF DEFENSE STEVEN VANDEPUT “It’s very important […]
CBS suspends sports analyst Greg Anthony after his arrest
(Reuters) – CBS Sports basketball analyst Greg Anthony has been suspended indefinitely by the network, a CBS spokesperson said on Saturday, a day after he was arrested in Washington, D.C., on a charge of soliciting prostitution. “Greg Anthony will not be working again for CBS this season,” the spokesperson said in an email. Anthony, 47, was arrested Friday evening after making an agreement for sexual favors, according to Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department. He was booked […]
France’s Hollande defends freedom of speech after anti-Hebdo clashes abroad
French President Francois Hollande said on Saturday that anti-Charlie Hebdo protesters in other countries do not understand France’s attachment to freedom of speech. He was speaking a day after the satirical weekly’s publication of a cartoon of the Prophet Mohammad sparked violent clashes, including deaths, in some Muslim countries. Demand has surged for Charlie Hebdo’s first issue since two militant gunmen burst into its weekly editorial conference and shot dead 12 people at the start […]
