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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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
By Paola LÓPEZ CUYABENO, Ecuador, April 22, 2024 (AFP) – Biologists on a trail in the Ecuadoran Amazon hold their breath as they distribute a foul-smelling delicacy to lure butterflies, critical pollinators increasingly threatened by climate change. A team has hung 32 traps made of green nets, each baited with rotting fish and fermented bananas. They are meant to blend in with the forest canopy. Their pungent odor clearly does not. Since last August, a […]
By Nick Perry PARIS, April 22, 2024 (AFP) – Europe endured a record number of “extreme heat stress” days in 2023, two leading climate monitors said Monday, underscoring the threat of increasingly deadly summers across the continent. In a year of contrasting extremes, Europe witnessed scorching heatwaves but also catastrophic flooding, withering droughts, violent storms and its largest wildfire. These disasters inflicted billions of dollars in damages and impacted more than two million people, the […]
By Amanda MOUAWAD Dubai airport, one of the world’s busiest, witnessed major disruption for a third straight day Thursday after the heaviest rains on record drenched the desert United Arab Emirates. Emirates, Dubai’s state-owned flagship airline, and sister carrier flydubai resumed check-ins after telling passengers to stay away on Wednesday, when thousands of delayed passengers clogged the airport. The airport, which handles more international passengers than any other, hopes to resume “something approaching normality” within […]
DAKAR, April 18, 2024 (AFP) – The deadly heatwave that hit Africa’s Sahel region in early April would not have occurred without “human-induced” climate change, according to a study by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) group published Thursday. The West African nations of Mali and Burkina Faso experienced an exceptional heatwave from April 1 until April 5, with soaring temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius triggering a large number of deaths. Observations and climate models used […]
