Environment

When humans wage war, animals suffer too: study

by Mariëtte Le Roux Agence France Presse PARIS , France (AFP) — When humans wage war, they harm more than just one another. Wild animals suffer too, and some have verged on annihilation in Africa’s many anti-colonial and civil conflicts, researchers said Wednesday. More than 70 percent of the continent’s protected natural areas has been touched by war between 1946 and 2010, triggering a “downward spiral” for many populations of big plant-eating mammals, according to […]

Global warming will expose millions more to floods

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Global warming is expected to unleash more rain, exposing millions more people to river flooding particularly in the United States and parts of Asia, Africa and central Europe, researchers said Wednesday. The study in the journal Science Advances calculates how much more flood protection will be needed to keep the risks of high-end floods constant in the next 25 years. Unless actions are taken — such as enhancing dikes, boosting […]

Giant water lilies, nagsilitawan sa isang ilog sa Paraguay 

(Eagle News) —  Itinuturing na isang problema ng iba  ang paglitaw ng mga water lily sa ilog. Pero hindi ito ang nangyayari sa Paraguay. Nagmistulang isang tourist spot ang isang ilog doon dahil sa mga water lily. Hindi kasi pangkaraniwan ang sukat ng mga water lily na nagsisulputan doon. Ang giant water lily ay lumilitaw lamang sa nasabing ilog kada apat na taon tuwing summer. Kilala rin ang giant lily sa healing properties nito laban […]

Natural therapy: Hong Kong’s mountain warriors

by Laura Mannering Agence France Presse HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Wooded hillsides, craggy ridges and wheeling birds of prey are a world away from Hong Kong’s famous skyscrapers but the city’s country parks are a necessary balm for its stressed out residents. With some of the world’s highest property prices, many can only afford tiny apartments, some living in infamous “cage homes” big enough only for a bed. Hong Kong’s fast-paced lifestyle and long […]

Nepal bans solo climbers from Everest

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AFP) — Nepal has banned solo climbers from scaling its mountains, including Mount Everest, in a bid to reduce accidents, an official said Saturday. The cabinet late Thursday endorsed a revision to the Himalayan nation’s mountaineering regulations, banning solo climbers from its mountains — one of a string of measures being flagged ahead of the 2018 spring climbing season. “The changes have barred solo expeditions, which were allowed before,” Maheshwor Neupane, secretary at […]

Swimming with whale sharks in Mexico

LA PAZ, Mexico (AFP) — They may be called whale sharks but there’s nothing to fear encountering one of these giant fish in the ocean — so much so that tourists in northwestern Mexico can swim alongside them on organized tours. “These are tropical animals, very gentle, that you can swim with, and which go along at a maximum eight kilometers (five miles) an hour,” explained Fabricio Mujica, who handles these up-close sessions in La […]

Cold Canada cancels some New Year’s events

OTTAWA, Canada (AFP) — Canadians pride themselves on living with cold weather — but sub-zero temperatures proved too much even for them Friday, with concerts canceled and ski hills closed for safety reasons during an extreme year-end cold snap. Temperatures almost reached -58 F (-50 C) in two central Canadian cities, Regina and Winnipeg. In the capital Ottawa, meanwhile, authorities announced the cancelation of some shows marking the end of Canada’s 150th anniversary celebrations held this year. […]

Turning e-waste into art at Ghana’s toxic dump

by Stacey Knott Agence France-Presse ACCRA, Ghana (AFP) — Joseph Awuah-Darko sits on a stool at one of the world’s largest electronic waste dumps, watching polystyrene and insulation cables burn on the blackened ground. “It’s survival and dystopia,” says the 21-year-old British-born Ghanaian, surveying the stretch of wasteland around him as dense plumes of acrid smoke rise into the air. Awuah-Darko and his university friends have ambitious plans for the sprawling Agbogbloshie dumping ground in […]

‘Virtual gold’ may glitter, but mining it can be really dirty

  by Chris Wright Agence France Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — As the poster child for the growing ranks of computer-generated currencies, bitcoin’s recent stratospheric price rises have propelled it from the chat forum-hosted depths of nerddom into the global consciousness. As it rose from under $1,000 to over $19,500 at one point this year, hordes of tech-savvy punters have rushed in to buy, while any investors can now do the same on the US […]

Look: Nepal’s last known dancing bears rescued

KATHMANDU, Nepal (AFP) — Nepali authorities have rescued the country’s last known “dancing bears”, officials said Sunday, ending the medieval tradition of abuse of the beasts for entertainment. The Himalayan nation banned performing bears back in 1973 but the illegal practice — a traditional occupation for some street performer communities — lingered on in parts of its southern region. Police and animal charities said they spent more than a year hunting the captors of the […]

Delhi rolls out ‘anti-smog’ mist cannon in trial run

by Atish Patel Agence France Presse NEW DELHI, India (AFP) — India on Wednesday unveiled a new weapon against air pollution — an “anti-smog gun” which authorities hope will clear the skies above New Delhi but which environmentalists say amounts to a band-aid solution. The cannon’s Indian manufacturers say the fine droplets of water it ejects at high speed can flush out deadly airborne pollutants in one of the world’s smoggiest capitals. The giant mister […]