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by Joe JACKSON LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — In 2008, Peter Bellerby set out to buy his father a high quality handmade globe as an 80th birthday present. When he could not find one, the Briton decided to make it himself — and, in the process, catapulted himself into a new profession. Just over a decade later, his company Bellerby and Co claims to be the finest globemaker in the world, selling tailor-made products to […]
by Ekaterina ANISIMOVA BOGUCHANY, Russia (AFP) — Svetlana Tuflyakova is in a hurry as she pushes her small son in his pram, keen to get back inside her house and away from the permeating smoke of Siberian wildfires: “It feels like it fills your whole body,” she says. Tuflyakova lives in the village of Boguchany in Krasnoyarsk region, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) from raging fires which have engulfed vast territories and filled residential areas […]
by Robin MILLARD © Agence France-Presse CHICHESTER, United Kingdom (AFP) — An original Spitfire plane took off from Britain on Monday on an unprecedented attempt to fly the iconic World War II fighter around the globe. The gleaming silver aircraft set off from Goodwood Aerodrome outside Chichester near the south coast of England for the first leg of the epic four-month journey. The restored 76-year-old fighter served in World War II but has been de-militarized, […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Nearly a quarter of the world’s population lives in 17 countries facing extremely high water stress, close to “day zero” conditions when the taps run dry, according to a report released Tuesday. The World Resources Institute’s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas ranked water stress, drought risk and riverine flood risk using a peer-reviewed methodology. “Agriculture, industry, and municipalities are drinking up 80 percent of available surface and groundwater in an average […]
by Marlowe HOOD PARIS, France (AFP) — July was the hottest month across the globe ever measured, and 2019 is on track to be one of the warmest years, according to data released Monday by the European Union’s Earth observation network. Searing heatwaves saw records tumble across Europe last month, with unusually high temperatures around the Arctic Circle as well. Wildfires unprecedented in scope and intensity burned in Siberia and Alaska, releasing more than 100 […]
VADODARA, India (AFP) — Crocodiles hunted dogs in the flooded streets of the Indian city of Vadodara after it was battered by nearly 50 centimeters (20 inches) of rain in 24 hours leaving five people dead, police said Friday. Waist-high water remained Friday in the Gujarat state city where the main railway station and most roads were closed by the freak deluge. About 5,000 people were evacuated from their homes as water from the overflowing […]
SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Seoul began testing delivery by drone in the country’s remote regions Wednesday, with the hope of improving residents’ quality of life, the government said. The project, jointly launched by the interior and safety ministry and Korea Post, among other government agencies, aims to establish a “public drone delivery system” to serve the country’s dispersed population. A test operation on Wednesday transported medical relief items from Dangjin, a city 80 kilometers […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Huawei remained the number two global smartphone vendor in the past quarter despite tough US sanctions imposed on the Chinese technology giant, market trackers said Wednesday. The Chinese firm managed to boost its sales even as the overall market declined, remaining on the heels of sector leader Samsung and ahead of US-based Apple. According to Strategy Analytics, overall global smartphone sales fell 2.6 percent to 341 million units in […]
PARIS, France (AFP) — Several Southeast Asian countries, sick of being the wealthy world’s rubbish dump, have in recent weeks turned back container-loads of waste from foreign shores. It comes after China last year stopped accepting the world’s used plastic, having previously been the biggest market for recyclables. After Indonesia on Tuesday announced it had sent back illegally imported garbage from France and Hong Kong, here is a roundup. China On January 1, 2018, China […]
by Maria PANINA MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — Gigantic forest fires have regularly raged through the vast expanses of Russia’s Siberia, but the magnitude of this year’s blazes has reached an exceptional level with fears of a long-term impact on the environment. As fires sweep across millions of hectares enveloping entire cities in black smoke and noxious fumes, environmentalists warn of a disaster threatening to accelerate the melting of the Arctic. More than 3.2 million hectares […]
by Stuart WILLIAMS PARIS, France (AFP) — Paris on Thursday baked in an all-time high temperature of 42.6 degrees Celsius (108.7 Fahrenheit) as a ferocious heatwave smashed records across northern Europe, sparking concerns about public health and causing new misery for rail travelers. As records also tumbled in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany, Paris beat the previous top of 40.4C set in July 1947. Trains have been slowed in several European countries to avoid damage […]
SANGATTE, France (AFP) — A daredevil French inventor is Thursday to attempt a flight across the Channel standing on a jet-powered “flyboard”, in an ambitious crossing he sees as following in the footsteps of the aviation pioneers. Franky Zapata, a former jet-skiing champion, aims to soar above the Channel “like a bird” in the crossing from northern France to southern England, in a scene likely to resemble a science fiction film. In a tribute to […]
