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TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A new strain of coronavirus that emerged in China may have originated in bats or snakes, according to genetic analysis of the virus that has so far killed 17 people. The theories are based on examination of the genome sequence of the virus released by authorities in the wake of the outbreak, with two studies pointing to the likely role of bats in the outbreak. One study, published Tuesday in the […]
TORONTO, Canada (AFP) – A court in Toronto on Wednesday ordered Volkswagen to pay a fine of Can$196.5 million (US$150 million) after the automaker pleaded guilty to violating environmental laws in the emissions cheating scandal. The court accepted an agreement that the German automaker reached with the Canadian government, which in December filed a 60-count indictment against the company. This fine is in addition to nearly Can$2.4 billion that Volkswagen had agreed to pay in […]
DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) – Stuart WILLIAMS Britain’s Prince Charles on Wednesday told business leaders at the Davos economic forum that wealth was of no use if it doesn’t help tackle climate change, as he met Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg and warned over the perils of global warming and environmental damage. Charles, the eldest son of the Queen and heir to the throne, met Thunberg in Davos on the same day as President Donald Trump […]
BRUMADINHO, Brazil (AFP) – Florence GOISNARD Brazil marks the first anniversary of the Brumadinho dam collapse Saturday, one of the country’s worst industrial accidents, which left 270 people dead. Millions of tons of toxic mining waste engulfed houses, farms and waterways, devastating the mineral-rich region in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais. State prosecutors on Tuesday charged Brazilian mining giant Vale’s ex-president Fabio Schvartsman and 15 others with intentional homicide and environmental offenses over the […]
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AFP) – Sam JAHAN Bangladesh’s high court has ordered the shutdown of 231 factories that have contributed to Dhaka’s main river becoming one of the world’s most polluted, a lawyer said Tuesday. The country is crisscrossed by hundreds of rivers, but a recent industrial boom, including the emergence of the world’s second biggest garment industry, has prompted officials to turn a blind eye to the industrial waste they dump into rivers. In a landmark […]
by David MILLIKIN Agence France-Presse SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia’s bushfires and other climate change effects are devastating the habitats of critically endangered species and driving the native platypus towards extinction, according to surveys highlighting the country’s vulnerability to rising temperatures. The unprecedented blazes that have swept through an area the size of Portugal have claimed 29 lives but also tested Australia’s rich and often unique wildlife, with experts warning up to one billion creatures […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — The European Union on Tuesday announced 200 million euros ($222 million) of funding for the Ariane 6 rocket launcher and for small and medium-sized space technology companies. Half the money is in the form of a loan for the new Ariane 6 heavy launcher programme, a collaboration between the European Space Agency program and the ArianeGroup. The other 100 million euros go towards a venture capital program to “support innovation and […]
by Issam Ahmed with Helen Roxburgh in Beijing Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States on Tuesday announced its first case of a new virus that has claimed six lives in China and sickened hundreds, joining countries around the world in ramping up measures to block its spread. The man, a US resident in his 30s who lives near Seattle, is in good condition, according to federal and state officials, and approached […]
DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) – Sebastian SMITH and Alex PIGMAN President Donald Trump tore into environmental “prophets of doom” at the Davos forum Tuesday, rejecting fiery warnings from teenage campaigner Greta Thunberg and talking up his own record in a counterpoint to impeachment back home. Thunberg was in the audience in the Swiss Alps to hear the typically bullish speech by Trump, delivered just before the US Senate opened the crucial next stage in his trial […]
FRANKFURT AM MAIN, Germany (AFP) – German sportswear giant Adidas said Tuesday more than half of the polyester used in its products this year would come from recycled material, including millions of shoes made from plastic waste. In 2020, the share of recycled polyester in Adidas products will “exceed 50 percent for the first time”, the company said in a statement. By 2024, Adidas “is committed to using only recycled polyester” across its entire range of […]
PARIS, France (AFP) – Patrick GALEY Some of the world’s biggest banks, insurers and pension funds have collectively invested $1.4 trillion in fossil fuel companies since the Paris climate deal, Greenpeace said Tuesday at the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos. With the climate emergency expected to be front and centre at the annual summit of the world’s business elite, the charity accused some institutions in attendance of failing to live up to […]
PARIS, France (AFP) – Marlowe HOOD The world is using up more than 100 billion tonnes of natural resources per year for the first time ever while global recycling of raw materials has fallen, according to a report released Tuesday. The share of minerals, fossil fuels, metals and biomass feeding into the global economy that is reused declined in two years from an already paltry 9.1 percent to 8.6 today, the Circularity Gap Report 2020 […]
